ESPN Set Doris Burke Up To Fail By Wanting To Put First Woman on NBA Finals | Bobby Burack

In 2023, ESPN named Doris Burke the co–color analyst for the NBA Finals. Both the network and the NBA promoted the move as historic—Burke would be the first woman to call an NBA Finals series. This week, ESPN demoted her in favor of Tim Legler.

A color analyst’s role is to quickly make the broadcast smarter in the brief seconds between plays, before handing it back to the game caller. Burke often struggled with that task. She took too long to make her points, wasn’t quick enough on her feet, and was still analyzing one play while the next was already unfolding.

Her inefficiency regularly threw off Mike Breen, the top NBA play-by-play announcer in the business.

THE RICKY COBB SHOW: Dawn Staley REJECTED by Knicks… Doris Burke SNUBBED by ESPN

Still, the blame doesn’t rest solely on Burke. Richard Jefferson’s corny reactions added clutter as the third voice on the broadcast. More importantly, Burke didn’t elevate herself to calling the NBA’s biggest games—ESPN did.

By historical standards, she wasn’t qualified for the role. Color analysts are almost always former professional players (Richard Jefferson, Mark Jackson) or coaches/GMs (Jeff Van Gundy, Doc Rivers, Bob Myers). Burke was neither. She built her career as a sideline reporter. Thus, she lacked the firsthand grasp of Xs-and-Os, pace, and on-court experience required to be a color analyst.

Like Mina Kimes, ESPN made an exception for Burke because she is a woman. Kimes, a former journalist, is featured in the same role as people who actually played in the league.

ESPN didn’t promote Doris Burke as a reward for her work. The network did it to say it put the first woman on the Finals broadcast. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Notice there are no men without pro playing or coaching experience in these roles anymore. For good reason. ESPN already tried it in 2006 with Tony Kornheiser in the "Monday Night Football" booth. It was a mistake. Kornheiser is arguably the greatest sportswriter of his generation, but his writing skills were no substitute for on-field expertise.

So spare us the "you just don’t want women talking sports" rebuttal. No one is saying Doris Burke doesn’t belong on NBA coverage in a different role.

In fact, ESPN ultimately embarrassed her by promoting her beyond her qualifications. Sources familiar with ESPN’s NBA production meetings say Burke was "visibly bothered" before Game 1 of the Finals in June—just hours after the New York Times reported she would likely be replaced next season.

There’s a long list of similar missteps. Monica McNutt revealed she didn’t know who Barry Sanders was while hosting a "First Take" NFL segment. Malika Andrews made multiple factual errors while covering the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Stan Verrett struggled to pronounce athletes’ names on SportsCenter. ESPN uses David Dennis Jr. on "NBA Today" despite no experience covering the league.

In each case, ESPN undermined its own personalities by elevating them to roles they weren’t suited for—simply to win the press release. Promoting and demoting based on race or gender doesn’t work. Viewers see through it, and it always ends badly.

In Burke’s case, the move was entirely self-serving. ESPN didn’t promote her as a reward for her work. The network did it to say it put the first woman on the Finals broadcast.

Put bluntly, Doris Burke was a pawn—as most identity-based hires are. ESPN set her up to fail. And she did. That’s on the company, not her.