On Sunday morning, the New York Times published a bombshell story about internal turmoil at ESPN over the past year after Rachel Nichols insinuated in a leaked conversation from the Orlando bubble that Maria Taylor was being given NBA Finals responsibilities over her because ESPN was so concerned about diversity.
It was a stunning story and one that led to many discussions about race, allyship, and issues within ESPN’s power structure, many of which were needed and important. It also led to people tweeting angrily at Nichols and in support of Taylor, but as so often happens in these instances, folks weren’t always keeping a close eye on the handle they were tweeting at.
There are two Rachel Nichols’ with large, verified Twitter accounts. ESPN’s Nichols has the @Rachel_Nichols handle, while actress Rachel Nichols has @RachelNichols1. You can probably guess where this is going, but on Monday, the latter Nichols awoke to check her Twitter after the weekend and found her mentions in absolute shambles, as she tried her best to explain that people had the wrong Rachel Nichols.
For the love of all that is good and pure…I wake up to hundreds of angry Tweets NOT MEANT FOR ME. If you’re gonna hate on someone…make sure it’s the CORRECT someone. FFS!
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
I woke up to HUNDREDS of Tweets YELLING AT ME and I had no idea what was happening! I was horrified and so sad. RT @christilton: @RachelNichols1 As soon as it started happening, I was like… oh no.
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
#WrongRachelNichols #WrongRachelNichols! #WrongRachelNichols…happens
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
IT WAS NOT ME! #WrongRachelNichols RT @AliGhezelbash: @blackpower1001 @RachelNichols1 You made a mistake. Just apologize.
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
HAVE YOU NOT HEARD? YOU ARE ATTACKING THE WRONG RACHEL NICHOLS! Why don’t you sit down and get your sh*t together! RT @furiousones92: @RachelNichols1 hating but be flirting with majority of the black players
sit down
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
Are you EFFing kidding me?!?!?!? Can you send me a link? This is horrible! RT @Bucko2440: @RachelNichols1 IMDB posted your photo on the Rachel Nichols story. Someone there obviously doesn’t follow sports
— Rachel Nichols (@RachelNichols1) July 5, 2021
It is a highly unfortunate circumstance for the actress to find herself in, and surely scrolling through countless mentions of people calling you racist is probably a startling thing as you try to figure out why that’s happening. It’s surely not the first time this mixup has happened, but usually it’s probably getting yelled at about some basketball thing and easy to figure out that they’re mad at the wrong person. This time was far worse, though, and it’s a product of how Twitter has handles pop up to autofill as you type them, with people just clicking on a verified Rachel Nichols and assuming that’s the ESPN one. As always, double check the handle and bio before you send that tweet, because you might send someone into a spiral of confusion otherwise.
[h/t Awful Announcing]
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