NBA Finals: Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praises Doris Burke amid report that her ESPN future is uncertain: ‘She has changed the game’
News broke on Wednesday that Doris Burke’s future as a broadcaster at ESPN is not secure. Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praised Burke, highlighting her impact on the industry and her role as an inspiration for women both in and out of sports broadcasting.
Carlisle made his comments just hours before Burke was scheduled to call Game 1 between the Thunder and Pacers for ESPN alongside Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson. According to a report by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Burke’s position with ESPN is not guaranteed beyond this season.
The report, titled “How ESPN messed up its NBA Finals TV trio,” indicates that while ESPN intends to re-sign Jefferson, his contract has not yet been secured, and Amazon Prime Video has shown interest in him. Meanwhile, Burke’s spot is not assured for next season, as ESPN plans to evaluate its entire roster.
Carlisle, who had read the report, spoke about Burke before his Pacers tipped off against the Thunder for the NBA championship. He cited Burke as a role model for professional women everywhere, including his college-aged daughter.
“I saw the things that were leaked yesterday about Doris Burke,” Carlisle said. “And I just want to say a couple of things. She has changed the game for women in broadcasting. I have a daughter who just turned 21. She’s in her second year at UVA. She’s not in the basketball industry. But Doris is a great example of courage and putting herself out there. It was just so sad to see these reports leaked, really unnecessarily before such a celebrated event.”
Carlisle continued, “Doris is a friend. I’ve asked her many times, when is she getting into coaching? She has such great knowledge. And so, there are many women who she has paved the way for.”
Burke will call the NBA Finals for ESPN alongside Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson. Carlisle thanked Burke for the example she has set for young women like his daughter, emphasizing, “She has changed the game. And that’s the reason she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a couple of years ago.”
Burke is a trailblazer with many significant firsts on her résumé, including being the first woman to serve as a full-time analyst calling NBA games for a network and the first woman to call an NBA Finals for a major network on both radio and TV. If her future at ESPN is indeed uncertain, it would mark a significant change at the network.