Taylor leaves ESPN after failing to reach contract extension

UNDATED (AP)- Maria Taylor is leaving ESPN after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension. Taylor has been with ESPN since 2014. Her last assignment for the network was Tuesday night at the NBA Finals, where she was the pregame and postgame host for the network’s “NBA Countdown” show. ESPN had been discussing a contract with Taylor for over a year but things reached a boiling point over the past month. Taylor rejected an extension last year and the two sides were far apart heading into the NBA Finals. Then came a New York Times report detailing comments her colleague Rachel Nichols made about Taylor last year during the NBA’s restart in Florida.