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Did Michelle Beadle troll Rachel Nichols? Ex ESPN host posts 'Goodfellas' scene amid drama

Beadle, who was replaced by Nichols in 2019, had a hilarious weekend after ESPN canned Nichols' NBA Finals hosting gig

The turf war between ESPN's leading ladies from 2019 is resuming with Michelle Beadle seemingly having the last laugh. After the sports network's host Rachel Nichols found herself embroiled in a racism controversy, Beadle who had once been replaced by Nichols for an NBA hosting gig couldn't help herself from tweeting THAT laughing scene from 'Goodfellas', asking her followers if they had a good weekend.

The development comes after it had been reported that Nichols had stirred quite the drama with her remarks about colleague Maria Taylor being a 'diversity' choice over Nichols for the NBA Finals last year. News of the leaked clip hit over the weekend with the New York Times publishing the original audio from a secretly recorded July 2020 phone call where Nichols can be heard expressing frustration over ESPN heading with Taylor for hosting the finals last year. As the clip came into light, ESPN announced they had removed Nichols for their NBA Finals sideline coverage as well, and Malika Andrews had replaced her. And the person who found the turn of events hilarious was Beadle, after she had been unceremoniously bought out with several years on her contract when Nichols and Taylor had replaced her on 'NBA Countdown' in 2019.

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In the audio clip that led to Nichols' replacement, the commentator can be heard telling an unidentified person: “I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball." But, Nichols adds, "If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

Following the media giant's expose of her sentiments, Nichols issued a public apology on her ESPN show 'The Jump' on Monday. But ESPN seems to have taken disciplinary actions against Nichols a step far, and dropped her from the sidelines gig altogether. “We believe this is the best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals,” ESPN said in a statement, adding that Nichols will continue to host her daytime show.  

Beadle did not add a context, or issue a public statement about her opinion on matters. But the former 'NBA Countdown' did share the laughing 'Goodfellas' gif, with the caption: "Did everybody have a good weekend?” This came after ESPN announced that Nichols had been pulled off the finals sidelines coverage and replaced by Malika Andrews. But Twitter meanwhile is focusing on how petty Beadle was with her sly snub. “Gotta respect this level of petty!,” one fan replied under Beadle's tweet. Another suggested this tweet, without any direct references, had to be about Nichols' fate with the show, as she “is totally the reason” Beadle lost the gig.

Others alleged: "Rachel pushed for Beadle to get canned from ESPN. To me Beadle was a better host and analyst, but Rachel supposedly outworked her in connections and breaking news stories. Total BS." And some suggested: "You and @SarahSpain aught to have a show. Two best sports commentators. Period. You have opinions! I’d watch."