The athletic sphere has shared headlines with the most political pieces of news this year.
So, it was no surprise when Jemele Hill, co-host of a popular evening “SportsCenter” program jumped onto the scene. On Sept. 11 Hill tweeted “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” And, “Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period.”
Two tweets and 224 characters induced pure chaos for ESPN and the controversial program “The Undefeated.” According to ESPN.com, “The Undefeated” aims to report news and commentary “that explores the intersections of race, sports, culture and more.”
Hailey Stewart | Argonaut
ESPN quickly turned to damage control and repeatedly apologized for the comments, saying Hill’s views do not reflect the views of the network as a whole. That only satisfied some — but not the White House.
In a Sept. 12 statement, not 24 hours after the eruption, ESPN said Hill recognized her actions were inappropriate. Hill tweeted her apologies for painting ESPN in a poor light, but not for her beliefs.
And, as the back-and-forth for the week finally reached some sort of resolution, ESPN released this statement: “Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN. She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology.”
Still, the support and backlash for and against Hill and ESPN has lingered over the last month, raising questions about reporters and commentators on the journalistic spectrum.
After all that, Hill returned to her nightly spot on television.
However, Hill was fully reprimanded Monday for again violating ESPN’s social media policy, according to a New York Time’s article. In another tweet, Hill suggested fans who disagree with Jerry Jones’ stance that he would bench Dallas Cowboys football players who kneel should boycott his advertisers.
It seems Hill, like many journalists in the age of social media, has been caught in a trap — to tweet or not to tweet.
Behind the multitudes of news platforms that invade our daily lives, there are multitudes of journalists utilizing social media in one way or another. Hill is no exception. Her brand is young, talented and opinionated, everything ESPN’s commentary-based program needed and asked for.
Hill is no stranger to the intersectionality of sports and politics. In 2012, Hill penned a column for ESPN explaining the link between the lives of professional athletes and the death of Trayvon Martin, an African American teen who was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. Hill called the support by influential athletes as a “catalyst toward justice.”
Hill is a journalist, but her current occupation lies in the realm of commentator rather than reporter. “The Undefeated’s” very specific programming essentially asks its hosts to light fires and see what ensues a commentator, and this falls to Hill.
The distinctions can be muddy, and many journalists, including myself, struggle to find the right place for Hill. But, that is the problem.
Just as ESPN put Hill in a box with its social media guidelines, ESPN fans, Hill’s scrutinizers and even members of the White House placed her in a box by not fully understanding her role in journalism.
Sure, most professionals in the field of journalism thought Hill’s first round of presumptuous and opinionated tweets would end her career. And, sure, neither of the tweetstorms perfectly adhered to ESPN’s policies. But, this is what ESPN must prepare for when hiring an opinionated and well-followed journalist.
The narrative holds it is difficult to be a public person without beliefs, but Hill does not buy into this. With her tweets, Hill dove into largely controversial issues with a sense of courage, but not without knowledge.
Hill is what she tweets — opinionated content that lends well to her audience and boosts the viewership of the company she works for.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected]