Jemele Hill is the co-anchor for ESPN’s cornerstone sports-recap show, SportsCenter. Hill and Michael Smith were named cohosts of the show earlier this year. It was late in the evening on Monday when Jemele began laying down a series of factual statements about Donald Trump and his white supremacy on her Twitter. All hell broke loose after that night – there were widespread calls for Jemele to be fired, and most of those calls came from Deplorables who were triggered because they believe it’s terrible when people call them out for being racists. The controversy even came into the White House briefing room, where Sarah Huckabee Sanders spat out some f–ked up sh-t about how Jemele’s tweets should be a “fireable offense.” Following SHS’s statements, and after Jemele filmed Wednesday night’s episode of SportsCenter, she tweeted this:
So, to address the elephant in the room … #Facts pic.twitter.com/RTrIDD87ut
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 14, 2017
What’s sad is that she even had to clarify something that was clear from the f–king start. She didn’t even tweet one word in reference to ESPN – her original tweets were solely about Trump’s ignorance and racism. That didn’t stop ESPN from publicly bashing Jemele. And according to Think Progress, ESPN even wanted to take Jemele off the air this week:
At 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, just three hours after the White House encouraged ESPN to fire her, Jemele Hill sat next to her co-host Michael Smith on the set of their daily SportsCenter show and, after a warm welcome to her live broadcast audience, began discussing the Cleveland Indians’ historic 21-game winning streak. Hill was calm and composed throughout the hour, and the show went on as usual.
However, two sources familiar with the situation told ThinkProgress that this was not the original plan. ESPN originally tried to keep Hill off the air on Wednesday evening, but Smith refused to do the show without her, the sources said. Both sources also said that producers reached out to two other black ESPN hosts, Michael Eaves and Elle Duncan, to ask them to serve as fill-ins for the show — but Eaves and Duncan did not agree to take the place of Hill and Smith, either. Faced with the possibility of having to replace Hill and Smith with white co-hosts, the sources said, ESPN then called Hill and asked her to come back on her show.
ESPN refutes this account. “Yesterday was a hard and unusual day, with a number of people interpreting the day without a full picture that happened,” Rob King, the senior vice president for news and information at SportsCenter, told ThinkProgress. “In the end, ultimately, Michael and Jemele appearing on the show last night and doing the show the way they did is the outcome we always desired.”
“We never asked any other anchors to do last night’s show. Period,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz emailed ThinkProgress after this story was published.
It would not surprise me at all if ESPN tried to push Jemele off the air this week and in the future. It sucks that this story is happening and that we even need a silver lining, but here it is: props to Michael Smith, Michael Eaves and Elle Duncan for standing up for Jemele. As I said yesterday, if Jemele is eventually fired or demoted, she’s going to have one hell of a lawsuit against ESPN. They threw under the bus and they threw her to the (deplorable) wolves. This whole thing would have been such a better story if ESPN had initially released a statement saying something like “Jemele’s opinions are her own and we stand behind her work 100%.” Instead, they infantilized her and publicly shamed her for merely stating facts about Trump’s white supremacy. And yes, I’m sure they’ll try to fire her.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
If they fire her watch what happens. Because black twitter already has their eyes on the story and we know they are good at organizing a swift boycott.
Kudos to the men on her team for having her back. One additional coworker has been supportive online as well (he is a white male).
I don’t think they’ll fire her, since it will be a lawsuit magnet. They’ll probably do what happened to Ann Curry- stay on the payroll, less airtime, quietly reassigned.
Yeah, that what I thought too, they’ll exile her. Robidas Island for Newscasters.
Im really glad to hear her coworkers are supporting her.
I’m sure they will try that too. Clearly they tried that this week and the men wouldn’t play ball.
@nicole
I love seeing her coworkers supporting her. I hope ESPN doesn’t try and force her out the door. Remember all the stuff Trump said about President Obama when he was on Celebrity Apprentice? What a horrible thin skinned racist jerk he is. Did anyone see Hillary on Maddow last night? So painfully clear who should have been President!!!
Riiiight. Not at all a Trump apologist, but seriously, Clinton was NOT the best choice for Democrats. We shot ourselves inthe foot for not demanding better.
Does anyone know which airing of SportsCenter they are on? I want to start watching (or DVRing) that one to boost the numbers?
I imagine ESPN will try to use “declining viewers” as an excuse to get rid of her.
Oh, Lee, we went over this yesterday. They have a history of using progressive discipline so they would need a compelling reason, like a serious crime. Now, did you do some research? Still think that disgusting bigot Schilling was treated unfairly?
Lee thinks con man and overall shitty human being Curt Schilling was treated unfairly by ESPN? LMAO!!
Yes knowledge IS power, Lee.
Do Not come for black women this year. Please see footnote Bill O Reiliwhatsit for reference.
I love that she has co-worker support too. They better not. Orange Foolius and his fragility…
I am not a Trump fan. Not in any way, shape or form but common sense should prevail. In this country we have freedom of speech as a foundation of our society. What we do not have is a a guarantee that when you say/write something that your freedom of speech will not have consequences. The expression of freedom of speech, especially on social media, doesn’t occur in a vacuum – it is spoken for others to hear and written for others to read and it lives forever on the web. It is ridiculous that someone in the public eye, who’s job depends for a large part on the good will of the public, doesn’t understand that social media postings can harm a career. Freedom of speech comes with responsibilities. I suspect that some of the people calling for her firing aren’t Trump supporters but people who, despite who the President is, respect the office if not the man. And let’s be honest, calling everyone that doesn’t agree with you a “deplorable” is so reminiscent of kindergarten bullying.
“Freedom of speech comes with responsibilities.”
Yes it does. And nobody should know that more than 45.
“And let’s be honest, calling everyone that doesn’t agree with you a “deplorable” is so reminiscent of kindergarten bullying.”
You are literally defending the biggest bully in our country by invoking something Clinton said about a *segment* of Trump voters almost a year ago. But what surprises me the most is that you apparently don’t think Nazis are deplorable.
I very much disagree with you.
Your entire argument has been rendered moot, because the press secretary of the WH has given her opinion about whether or not Jemele should be fired.
and trump has weighed his his bombastic opinion. THAT is a violation of the 1st Amendment.
So while saying something stupid is your right, and others have the right to call you on (see: my post to you now), the government DOES NOT have the “right” to call for the firing of private citizens for voicing their opinions about the government.
So either read to understand what “freedom of speech” really means, or don’t exercise it. Because in your current state, you look like the fool you are defending.
@ArchieGoodwin, how exactly has my stance been rendered moot? If you actually read what I wrote, you will see that I’m asserting responsibility on everyone and that your work, friends, schools, etc. can have a reaction to your speech and impose consequences. And Trump having an opinion is not the same as the government shutting someone down. Like all citizens, he has free speech. And there can be consequences, such as people like me shaking my head and thinking, “What an a$$clown” and realizing that I can’t support him on anything. You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I think that Trump is defendable. I don’t.
CTGirl’s first comment 100%…ESPN doesn’t try to be edgy, as someone mentioned. They’re owned by Disney. They want to be seen as wholesome entertainment, celebrating athletes who work hard, earned something. They want to appeal to mainstream America & I guarantee they would be equally upset about their employees bashing Obama, Bush, Clinton, religions…There’s a time and a place for kitchen table talk. My company has a social media policy about employee’s personal accounts, and others about brand management/ambassadors , etc. Nonetheless, plenty of other companies don’t, so it’ll work out for all parties as it was meant to be.
Free Speech is not what you seem to think it is. It’s not being allowed an opinion. It’s the government not persecuting you for disagreeing with them, whichever party is in power. It’s the right to protest, to have a dissenting opinion.
trump and his administration have very much stepped all over that, with Jemele. SHS said what Jemele posted should be a fireable offense. Do you see why this is problematic at best?
trump can have any opinion he wants. What is against the 1st Amendment is his using the WH, his position of power as president, to persecute citizens, on twitter, in speeches. It is also true of SHS. She can dislike what Jemele said. She cannot use the pulpit of the WH to she thinks Jemele should be fired from her job for speaking out about trump.
I hope that helps you understand what “Freedom of Speech” really means. It’s under attack in the USA so you best fully understand your rights.
ETA: Think of it this way. His tweets were used against him bu the courts to stop his travel ban. That’s how much power his twitter has. he’s not a private citizen anymore. He wields his twitter like a weapon, to punish people, and that is a violation. Even more problematic is his penchant for blocking those with dissenting opinions. Think about that- the president is blocking people from exercising their 1st Amendment right to protest the government. Along with other WH employees, they also block people.
@ArchieGoodwin
Fantastic as always.
CT the problem with your argument is that your concept of free speech has been misinterpreted. We don’t have free speech as you seem to define it. “Free speech” is not the same as anti-censorship. 45 does not have freedom of expression the same as a private citizen because of the imbalance power.
ESPN has engaged in political discourse over the past year about Colin K. and entered the political arena whether they meant to or not. This is now the world we live in, and the rules shifted because of it. Jamele
45 has no right to call for a private citizen to be fired because of his hurt ego. We don’t live in the Soviet Union where the government has the power to monitor our free press and make decisions for private entities based on how the government perceives a statement.
He was on NBC the whole time he was pushing his birther racist tripe against our president and did it for eight years, but his white male privilege allowed him to get away with it. Did you feel the same way about that? Do you remember anyone calling for him to be fired? Even though what he said was a lie.
There are public figures all over Twitter and social media saying the same thing she said, but he targets a black woman for saying it. The difference is what she said and what he said for eight years is that she isn’t lying.
Your average sports fan is likely to be a Trump supporter.As a channel pandering to that audience while simultaneously promoting the toxic masculine culture that is interwoven with modern sports ESPN is probably angling to fire her.
They can eat a bag of dicks,I’m sure she has offers lining up already.
I’m not here to defend ESPN. But I am a rabid sports fan and a daily consumer of sports broadcasting, including ESPN. I would argue that a lot of “average” sports fans do not support him (sorry, not sorry, can’t type his name).
Lovely people,Celebitchy’s readers I think it’s great that you are trying to explain to me that people can be more than one thing.I completely get that.It’s ESPN that doesn’t.
I’m a sports fan, own season tickets to one of my local teams. Grew up in a family of rabid sports fans. My mom has season tickets to two local teams. My sister has season tickets to a third local team. My boyfriend is a sports fan. I live in a city that is sports crazed. I am not a Trump supporter. My mom, sister and boyfriend are not Trump supporter. Hillary got 70% of the vote in my town outside Boston, nearly 82% in Boston, and carried MA with 60% of the vote. So no, the average sports fan is not a Trump supporter. Generalized statements should be avoided.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. My husband and I are avid sports fans, as are almost all of our friends, and not a single one of them or their sports loving families voted for him. I’d say it’s more split than people think. I also think the amount of minorities who spend their time on ESPN and their FF app is larger than people think and that those people (like myself) have no issue never using that app again for my league.
ESPN FF booo! Switch to Yahoo! next season. 🙂
You can’t use that generalization. New York hates 45, but the sports fans are out of their minds. California is the same. Golden State Warriors, Lakers, 49ers, etc. total blue state and sports fans. Both my homes are blue as can be, and sports love is everywhere.
Its good to hear that Smith, Eaves, and Duncan had her back on this.
Seriously! I’m so impressed with them. They did something that was not easy to do in support of a colleague. I listened to Jemelle and Michael’s podcast for years and they always stressed the idea of supporting your fellow journalists in any way you can. It’s clear that folks love and support them.
Kathy Griffin made it clear when she showed that letter she got from a big network board-member…it’s a different world behind-the-scenes and higher up the food chain.
Here’s the thing … anyone familiar with ESPN knows that Jemele (and Michael) have been outspoken about racial issues for a long time, on and off the air. This isn’t new. The ESPN big wigs are WEAK when it comes to anything even slightly controversial. They want to be seen as an edgy, smart network – but they’re not. They’re constantly clinching their but cheeks when something like this happens and more often than not respond in an irresponsible and offensive way, making matters worse. Jemele and Michael are a staple on air. And with their recent wave of layoffs, they really need to respectfully understand the longtime value that these two bring to the network. ESPN should take all of the seats because this was never an “issue” to begin with until they listened to a small, ignorant group of people and made it one.
EDIT: BUTT** Haha.
I don’t even watch espn anymore and I just went and tweeted at them. He is a racist and white supremacist. The White House saying she should be fired is beyond the pale and wrong, wrong, wrong! Everyone should be letting them know someway (email, phone, twitter) that we won’t stand by while they use pressure (first) to silence their critics–this is a slippery slope and we don’t want to go down it!
Orange Voldy is tweeting his typical insults at ESPN this morning, claiming their ratings are falling and ESPN is failing, much like he does with CNN and NY Times.
And sorry but no, Jemele won’t have much of a lawsuit against ESPN based on what has happened in the past. ESPN has removed people from shows and even fired people in the past for things they have said on their personal social media accounts. Apparently, their contracts allow them to do so. And she wouldn’t win a discrimination case because to do so, she would have to show that she was treated differently because she is a member of a protected class (yes, she can show that because she is in 2 protected classes – race & gender) who, and this is the important part, received disparate treatment. She won’t be able to prove the latter because ESPN removed Mike Ditka from a show because of his statements against Obama and may have actually fired him (there’s controversy over whether he quit or if it was a you can’t fire me I quit scenario) and they repeatedly suspended and finally fired Curt Schilling for disgusting bigoted things he posted on his social media. Doesn’t matter if what she said was right or wrong if they are contractually obligated to avoid such topics. They suspend and terminate white guys for their social media offenses so she can’t show disparate treatment.
The issue we can all deal with is the President’s attempt to force ESPN to fire her. This is just WRONG. The government cannot interfere with her constitutional rights and it cannot force an employer to interfere with an employee’s constitutional rights. Contact ESPN and let them know you oppose Trump’s pressure and you support Jemele.
Trump doubled down on his “both sides” bullshit yesterday. We know he is f*cking racist because he constantly reminds us. I am so disgusted with ESPN I could spit.
He’s a f*cking racist, misogynist Nazi traitor. ESPN must, by law, treat all employees the same. If it transferred or demoted someone in the past for a similar incident, they must treat Jemele the same. They have to follow their contracts and the EEOA and any relevant state laws but they don’t have to listen to Trump and they shouldn’t.
LP – on the previous posts I’ve noted ESPN has a very strict social media policy. Michelle Beadle has also been suspended for her comments in regards to Mayweather. The content of her words is true so I understand people’s outrage but I really think people are ignoring a huge part of this story and that’s the social media policy she agreed to follow.
Yes, they all signed those contracts and they all have to be aware of what has happened to others
God, this makes ESPN look so small and pathetic. There are times when you have to decide what kind of a company you want to be, whether you have a shred of decency left of whether it’s the bottom line above all else. I think we know what ESPN decided to go with.
It’s enraging that she tweeted (or was made to tweet) “in an unfair light”. HOW. No, really, how was it unfair? Unpleasant, maybe (and yet true). Uncomfortable, possibly (STILL true though). But not unfair. Poor little ESPN was treated unfairly with the truth. Since I can’t boycott them I’ll boycott Disney (I don’t have kids so it’s not that hard but still).
Agree with your characterization of ESPN. But honestly it’s exactly what I’d expect. I wish Ms Hill and her colleagues could all walk out and find better jobs at…a place that unfortunately doesn’t exist. Sigh.
F-ck the deplorables. I spent 15 minutes listenIng to one this weekend. She rambled on and on about how Trump is not racist. I was screamIng inside but had to be calm. So awful.
Listen to the minorities, white folks. They know racism. Shame on ESPN for not back Jamele.
Trump is racism defined. White privilege personified. This is fact.
I hope beyond hope they don’t force her to apologize. Threaten her that she’ll lose her job if she doesn’t apologize to him.
I can’t even imagine how this feels, a black woman in this position, being forced to defend against a known white supremacist.
I hate hate hate him.
Ratings have been down since she and Smith took over Sportscenter, so it’s not like she’s adding anything to ESPN’s bottom line. If the network thinks she’s not worth the headache (like they did with Curt Schilling), then of course they are well within their rights to fire her. She would have no lawsuit, just like Schilling wouldn’t have one.
They would have to follow progressive discipline, as they did with Schilling and tried to do with Ditka. That means steps like written reprimand, demotion, suspension before actual termination. Progressive discipline allows an employee the opportunity to keep the job and the discipline goes up in severity with each violation of company rules. They suspended Schilling first. When he then continued with his behavior, they were able to terminate him. They have to treat her in the same manner or she would prevail in a lawsuit for disparate treatment. We don’t know if she has received any prior discipline. If she hasn’t and they terminate, then she has a case. If she has and they terminate, it would be the same as with Schilling.
Ok but what about Colin Cowheard?
What about him? They may have used progressive discipline with him as well. Companies tend to keep disciplinary actions confidential.
Totally agree. My husband and I both are big sports fans so we have ESPN on a lot. We rarely look at SportsCenter now because she and Smith just don’t seem to be any good. Nothing against their race or political choices, just not entertaining. Stuart Scott was one of the finest sportscasters they had. I don’t see ESPN firing her, but I would not be shocked if they reassigned her.
The ratings are down but it’s not Jemele or Michael’s fualt. The change in format is what killed the ratings of their 6PM SC. The 6PM SC used to be like all other SC time-slots – anchors behind a desk reporting scores, showing highlights and reporting on top sports industry stories.
But then ESPN gave it more of a late night talk show feel format. They have guests, have topical conversations and show funny clips aka every other show on ESPN. The majority of people watching ESPN at 6 PM are not looking for a talk show – they are looking for the day’s scores & highlights quickly.
I mostly agree with what she said, but being a public figure like that you’re right to free speech is limited. You can’t just outwardly say things like that without consequences. She’s a ESPN cohost, not a CNN news commentator. Politics and sports don’t mix. I don’t think she should lose her job, but she definitely needs to be reprimanded and taught that as a public figure, everything you say and do is heavily chastised and examined. You can’t be outwardly negative towards something, especially political. Hopefully others will catch on. If I’m watching sports, I don’t care what your political opinion is. Stick to what you know.
On a side note, I don’t know if Trump is a white activist/supremacist, but he’s certainly a white activist apologist so I guess that’s being the same thing.
“White activist” huh?
That’s…new.
This is slightly OT but it irks me slightly that the word “triggered” is now a mainstream way of saying someone is throwing a hissy fit. I have PTSD and triggers are no joke. They can be dibilitating and throw me off my center for days. I mean I know the alt right hijacked the word first and now we’re turning it back around on them, but it still feels like another thing that got hijacked and instead of shining light on PTSD just serves to again push us back into the shadows.
LS – hugs to you. I feel the same about Libtard.
When I see anything “tard” on Facebook or Twitter, I report it. Mental retardation is a medical diagnosis whose terminology has been corrupted. They are ridiculing a disability and that is how I describe it when I report it. They are harassing the disabled. One of our neighbors growing up was diagnosed as “retarded” and he knew it meant he was different. Whenever the word was used as an insult, he would be deeply hurt and upset. I always think of him when I see that usage.
Epilepsy also has triggers. it’s an unpleasant word. As is anything “…tard”.
We have got to get rid of Trump ASAP, or else this kind of abuse is only going to get worse. Jemele should never have had to apologize. We aren’t in ordinary times. People with platforms have got to speak out, even if it makes their employers uncomfortable. It’s like we’re all pretending we have time to chit chat about employee ethics. Trump is a menace. Our republic is in danger, and the least represented people are being hurt first. Jemele gets that.
This is bullsh*t. She only spoke the truth and we should all take to the streets and rally behind her. WHEN IS HE LEAVING THIS WHITE HOUSE IN HANDCUFFS ALREADY??? We also should send good vibes to Mueller that he comes back to the table with really impeachable and criminal activities from the Trumps… I cannot wait to see Ivanka go down!!!
it feels great to see people support a black woman, I’m happy for her! sometimes all we get is vitriol & automatically stereotyped. Really happy to hear about the support she has received!
What happened to freedom of speech? Oh that’s right, now I remember what George Carlton said… “we don’t have freedom, only privileges.”
Im sorry, but why isn’t our president(feels weird saying that lol) busy doing important work? I didn’t think the president of america had time to tweet? I think we need a social media intervention, our president shouldn’t be this distracted. But, look at who we our talking about, what a joke. Everyday I pinch myself and question if I’m really dreaming!
Does anyone not feel a little worried about what’s to come? If this man is firing people for speaking their minds, what happens next? Handmaids tale isn’t looking that far away…
I blame upper and middle america for living in a bubble and voting the devil into office. No ones safe, that’s the illusion created for you to make you feel better.
“If this man is firing people for speaking their minds, what happens next?”
I don’t think you know how it works. LOL.
ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!-Trump
What Jemele said wasn’t politics. It’s called being a human being. The King of Lies and Fake News is a WS and he has allowed several WS into the WH to create policies to hurt people.
Then there is the hypocrisy. He talks about ESPN’s low ratings when his approval ratings are the worst numbers in history. Imagine what his approval ratings would really be if he didn’t have the Russian bots messing around with the polls. He would be under 20.
What untruth? The King of Lies and Fake News has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate that he is a WS. Did ESPN see the tweets that The King of Lies and Fake News made today? It’s Jemele who had to apologize?
It’s sad ESPN is being complicit.
Are we not going to talk about the part where they consider their black hosts interchangeable or…
Veronica I thought the same thing today when my husband and I were talking about this. I said isn’t it insulting asking two other black employees, because ESPN knew they were in for backlash either way. I’ll be upset if they transition her out but wouldn’t be surprised
Sorry but that twitter account clearly is business promotion oriented. Read her twitter profile. So if ESPN has an issue with her comments, yeah — I get it. She’s bringing political heat and they get to opine strongly on its appropriateness. If she want this to be personal, don’t use twitter to promote her show or the network. She clearly does, so they clearly have a stake in what she says.
Sarah Huckabee and The King of Lies and Fake News are continuing their crusade to get Jemele fired. Sarah went to the podium again yesterday to express that ESPN needs to fire Jemele. It’s disappointing how the press reporters continue to show up the WH after Sarah continues to attack their peers. When is enough going to be enough for them? All Sarah does is lie and attack and they sit there complicit.
I don’t like her iteration of SportsCenter at all & I don’t find her particularly entertaining. She is right about trump though. He is for sure racist, we have a lawsuit to prove it.
Imagine ALL your white male coworkers saying, “I’m not going to replace her,” when the boss tries to get rid of you because you stated your opinion publicly.
It would never happen would it? Men are all too eager to maintain the status quo and shrug it off when women or POC are punished for pointing out discrimination. White guys and all men need to support women of color and all women, they need to be held accountable for the racism and sexism to which they are complicit, and from which they benefit.
That’s the only way it would change right? Jemelle would be replaced right now if the men around her hadn’t stood up for her.