Not everything goes smoothly in life. There comes many setbacks and difficulties. One needs to face and overcome difficulties to bounce back and take control of everything. Maria Taylor who is an American athlete, sportscaster, and producer faced racial remarks in her career.
Her years of hard work were deemed possible only because of her skin color. She never feared all the comments and showed all her haters her worth. Now, she is the first-ever female full-time host of the most-watched studio show in sports, NBC Sports’ Football Night in America.
Does Maria Taylor Have A Degree?
Maria Taylor was born on May 12, 1987, according to the wiki. Her full name is Suzette Maria Taylor. She was born in Alpharetta, Georgia. U.S. Her parents are Steve and Suzette Taylor. They have three children. She has two siblings, Vanna Taylor, and Steve Taylor Jr in her family. Her age is 36 years. She is a Taurus. She belongs to the black ethnicity. She attended Centennial High School in Rosewell, Georgia. She played basketball for four years in her high school.
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She was the Offensive MVP of the high school volleyball team for three years. She was in All-Region Selection three times and All-State as a senior. She was selected as a member of the 2004 USA Volleyball Junior National A2 team.
She attended the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with an athletic scholarship. She continued her volleyball and basketball journey from 2005 to 2009 in university. She was a member of the All-SEC Volleyball team each season. She continued playing for the US Volleyball Junior National A2 team. She assisted them to win a bronze medal in the Open Division of the US Volleyball Championships.
She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. She delivered the commencement speech at her alma mater in May 2021 during the 60-year anniversary of the university.
What Is Maria Taylor Known For?
At her university, she was a reporter and host for IMG College. She had worked on various studio shows, including SEC Men's Basketball Tonight, Dawg Report, and SportsNite.
In 2013, she joined ESPN as the sideline reporter on the channel’s weekly Saturday-night time college football telecast. She analyzed and covered the Orange Bowl, NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, and Women's Volleyball National Championship.
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In 2014, she joined SEC Network where she served as a college football reporter and analyzed the SEC volleyball and women’s basketball telecast. In 2019, she hosted NBA Countdown and other NBA games. She reported from the sidelines for the Pittsburgh Steelers vs New York Giants in 2020.
She moved to NBC Sports in July 2021. She debuted on-air by covering the 2020 Summer Olympics on July 23, 2021. She then hosted the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show followed by the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. Likewise, Maria also hosted the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals of the 2022 French Open tennis tournament. She is hosting the most-watched studio show in sports, Football Night in America.
Besides hosting, she is the executive producer of the eight-part documentary series where she covers the history of the Black quarterback in the NFL. She has been named one of the 2021’s ‘Most Powerful Women in Sports’ by Adweek and was presented 2022 Gracie Award for Outstanding Broadcaster.
She was included in TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Next List in 2022. The magazine identified the emerging leaders who are shaping the future. She was also included in the 2022 Giorgio Armani “Crossroads” campaign which celebrated the global stories of 12 women.
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What Were Rachel Nichols's Comments About Maria Taylor?
In 2020, an audio clip from a video went viral where Rachel Nichols can be seen expressing her displeasure that Taylor was given hosting duties for the NBA Finals last year. Nichols who is white alleged that the color of Taylor’s skin (black) and the network’s pressure to include diversity had a lot to do with that decision. Her racist remarks threw the whole of ESPN and its employees into chaos.
Who Is Maria Taylor's Husband?
Taylor was married to Rodney Blackstock in 2019. In 2020, they got divorced for unknown reasons. In February 2021, she revealed that she married Jon. Taylor and Jon had known each other since their high school days. Taylor thanks her husband to let her shine and never getting jealous of her achievements.
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What Is Maria Taylor's Salary?
Taylor’s estimated net worth is around $6 million. Her yearly salary at ESPN was $1 million. She rejected their $3 million offer and joined NBC which offered her a $5 million yearly salary.
How Tall Is Maria Taylor?
She has a towering height of 6 feet 2 inches (188cm). Her hair is black. She has big beautiful eyes. Her eyes are dark brown. She weighs around 66 kg. Her shoe size is 11 US.
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