Rick Carlisle Plea Falls Flat After ESPN’s Investigations on Doris Burke Concludes

ESPN has made a major shakeup to its NBA Finals broadcast team, officially demoting Hall of Fame analyst Doris Burke after just two years on the network’s top crew. According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Burke will no longer sit alongside Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson on the Finals call, with longtime ESPN analyst Tim Legler stepping into her spot.

Burke’s demotion ends a historic chapter, as she became the first woman in history to serve as a lead analyst for any of the four major American sports leagues’ championship broadcasts. ESPN is reportedly negotiating a contract extension to keep her on the No. 2 broadcast team once her current deal expires after the 2025-26 season.

This decision comes months after Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle made a passionate public plea in Burke’s defense during the NBA Finals. Before Game 1 against Oklahoma City, Carlisle used his press conference to call Burke a trailblazer who “changed the game for women in broadcasting,” even citing her as a role model for his own daughter. He slammed the timing of leaks, questioning her future as “really unnecessary before such a celebrated event.” Despite that defense, ESPN’s internal evaluation appears to have moved forward unchanged.

NEWS: ABC/ESPN has demoted Doris Burke from its NBA Finals team and promoted Tim Legler, sources tell @AndrewMarchand.

Legler will pair Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson.

Read: https://t.co/OrgPamW8aq pic.twitter.com/ej6MD3Wi2y

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 28, 2025

The shakeup underscores ESPN’s ongoing struggle to find lasting chemistry in its top booth following the 2023 breakup of the iconic Breen-Jeff Van Gundy-Mark Jackson trio. Since then, the Finals broadcast has become a revolving door, with Burke, Doc Rivers, JJ Redick, and Jefferson all auditioning in different combinations.

Now, Breen will partner with Jefferson and Legler moving forward. While Burke remains a respected figure at the network, ESPN’s choice signals a new direction—one that leaves Carlisle’s heartfelt support as little more than a footnote in the broadcaster’s shifting lineup.

(Hang tight as we break this story down…)

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