Michele Tafoya leaving NBA sidelines

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Michele Tafoya says she’s had enough of the nights on the road because of her sideline duties for NBA games with ESPN and ABC. She didn’t renew her contract for this season, saying she prefers to spend more time with her family in Minnesota.

She says she will remain on the sidelines for ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football.’’

Although quitting to spend more time with your family is usually code for not having your contract renewed, this from afar sounds legit. Tafoya, 43, has a young son and wants to adopt another child. And, unless there’s more here than we’ve been told, such as her demanding a lot more money, there’s no reason for the network to look elsewhere.

I’m not sure why these jobs exist, actually. But, as sideline reporters go, Tafoya is as informative as you can be in short, sporadic sound bites.

Less than a week before the NBA regular season begins, there has been no announcement of her replacement.

Tafoya was born in Manhattan Beach. She has an undergraduate degree in communications from Cal and an MBA from USC.

-- Randy Harvey