ESPN anchor blasts Trump as ‘white supremacist’
Jemele Hill is the newest face of ESPN controversy.
The “SportsCenter” co-host went on a Twitter rant against President Trump that included calling him a “white supremacist” — forcing the network to issue a statement Tuesday denouncing the comments.
“Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime,” Hill tweeted Monday night.
“His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period,” she said. “He is unqualified and unfit to be president. He is not a leader. And if he were not white, he never would have been elected.”
For a network that detractors believe leans liberal, especially through its on-screen personalities, Hill’s comments fit that narrative.
Her incendiary tweets were part of a near 15-minute long rant, which she unleashed around 8 p.m.
“Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists,” she said at the start of her tirade.
“The height of white privilege is being able to ignore his white supremacy, because it’s of no threat to you,” Hill added. “Well, it’s a threat to me.”
The black 41-year-old — who co-hosts the 6 p.m. broadcast of SportsCenter, also known as “The Six” — wound up firing off more than a dozen tweets, criticizing the president.
The diatribe began in response to a news story about singer Kid Rock, who is toying with Senate next year. The article accused the media of calling the Confederate flag-toting musician a racist, despite his previous claims that he “[loves] black people.”
Hill, an 11-year ESPN veteran, sarcastically denounced Kid Rock’s reasoning in several tweets, arguing he can’t use a flag that “unquestionably stands for dehumanizing black people” and call himself a racial sympathizer. Her criticism of him eventually turned into the angry comments about Trump.
“Donald Trump is a bigot. Glad you could live with voting for him. I couldn’t, because I cared about more than just myself,” Hill seethed.
“I hate a lot of things but not enough to jeopardize my fellow citizens with an unfit, bigoted, incompetent moron. But hey, that’s just me.”
Hill’s statements caused an uproar on social media, prompting ESPN to issue its statement Tuesday — distancing themselves from the sports anchor.
“The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN,” the network said. “We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate.”
ESPN has been involved in plenty of politically correct controversies, including the removal of a college football announcer named Robert Lee.
The network flat-out admitted to moving the play-by-play man in an effort to avoid social media outrage.
Last April, former All-Star pitcher-turned-baseball analyst Curt Schilling was fired for sharing an insensitive Facebook post about the North Carolina transgender bathroom law.
“LET HIM IN! to the restroom with your daughter or else you’re a narrow-minded, judgmental, unloving racist bigot who needs to die,” the post said.
It was accompanied by an image of an overweight man donning a wig and women’s clothing, along with a low cut shirt exposing his breasts.
“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves,” Schilling wrote in the description. “I don’t care what they are, who they sleep with, men’s room was designed for the penis, women’s not so much. Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.”
In response, ESPN issued a similar statement to the one they released for Hill — only this time, they chose to fire Schilling.
“ESPN is an inclusive company,” the network said. “Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”
Unlike Schilling, it appears that Hill will be allowed to keep her job — leading many to call ESPN out for what they believe is a massive double standard.
“ESPN, Curt Schilling is fired 4 questioning Transgender Bathrooms but nothing happens 2 Jemele Hill when she calls Trump a WhiteSupremacist?” wrote one upset Twitter user.
“Complete BS, You fired Curt Schilling for political opinions,” another said.
Pete Packowski added, “it’s a f–king disgrace that jemele hill is still employed by espn, while curt schilling lost his job.”
From Wikipedia:
During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Hill was suspended from her post after referencing Adolf Hitler in an article about the then-NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. In an editorial describing why she could not support the Celtics, Hill wrote: "Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan. Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics." The comments generated a negative response and that portion of the editorial was taken out shortly after the column was published. Hill was subsequently suspended for one week and she issued an apology through ESPN.[8] The network drew criticism for its treatment of Hill, as another employee, Lou Holtz, also made a Hitler reference in 2008 and was not suspended.[9] In a piece for the Los Angeles Times entitled "ESPN should suspend Lou Holtz for Hitler remark," Randy Harvey wrote, "We detect a double standard."[10]
In 2009, Hill drew ire of University of Kentucky fans for suggesting they would be willing to accept Charles Manson as the coach of their basketball team as long as he won. Hill apologized for the comment.[11]
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