Kimberley Martin, a black ESPN reporter, slammed NPR on Wednesday after the news organization used a picture of her in place of former ESPN host Maria Taylor.
The NPR article talked about Talor leaving ESPN after failing to agree on a contract extension. Taylor’s exit comes only weeks after comments from white ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols, suggesting that Taylor was only promoted over Nichols due to diversity concerns at the network.
NPR’s original tweet, which included the wrong picture, said, “ESPN host Maria Taylor will leave the sports network after they failed to agree on a contract extension.
“It comes weeks after remarks by veteran ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols were leaked in which she suggested that Taylor was promoted because she is Black,” the tweeted finished.
Martin, whose picture they used, tweeted, “Cmon guys…. We don’t *ALL* look alike.” The tweet also included a GIF of her.
“I promise you, @NPR… That’s *not* Maria Taylor. It’s me,” Martin said in a follow-up tweet blasting NPR. She also attached a screenshot of the article with a picture of herself. The caption read: “ESPN reporter Maria Taylor prior to an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 18, 2020.”
NPR later corrected the picture and tried pushing the blame on the Associated Press. The news organization tweeted, “Because of an error in an AP caption, this post previously featured an image of ESPN reporter Kimberley Martin instead of Maria Taylor. We apologize for the error.”