ESPN Doesn’t Punish Host Who Called Trump an Ignorant White Supremacist
An ESPN host had her hand slapped Tuesday after she posted on social media a note calling Donald Trump a “white supremacist.” On Monday, co-host of the 6 p.m. SportsCenter broadcast Jemele Hill tweeted that, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” She then tweeted that, “Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period.”
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
She went on to call President Trump “unqualified,” and that if he weren’t white he wouldn’t have been elected.
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
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
ESPN said in a statement Tuesday that Hill’s comments “do not represent the position of ESPN.”
ESPN Statement on Jemele Hill: pic.twitter.com/3kfexjx9zQ
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 12, 2017
They added, “We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate.” They did not mention a suspension or other punishment.
The Twitter Mentality
Co-host of Fox Sports’ Speak for Yourself Jason Whitlock said he’s known Hill for a long time. “I just think she’s gotten caught up in the Twitter mentality that baits people and asks people to attack the President at anything that they view as conservative,” he said Wednesday. “She’s caught up in it, ESPN’s caught up in it.”
Speaking to Fox News’ Fox and Friends, he said, “They have clearly condoned what she did by not taking any action. … I think they’ve chosen a lane politically.”
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that Hill should be fired. “I think that’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN,” Huckabee Sanders said.
Whitlock conceded that it’s popular to attack the president on Twitter. Doing so “is a way to get re-tweeted and liked and to build your following over Twitter.” But he noted that ESPN fired baseball analyst Curt Schilling over a similar incident last year, only his comment was conservative in nature.
Schilling’s Firing
Schilling, former All-Star pitcher was fired last year from ESPN over a Facebook comment about North Carolina’s bathroom bill. His post responded to a cartoon of a man with a wig and women’s clothing on. It said: “LET HIM IN! to the restroom with your daughter or else you’re a narrow-minded, judgmental, unloving racist bigot who needs to die.”
Schilling posted: “A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. 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.”
At that time, ESPN stated that they were an “inclusive” company. They added that Schilling was “advised that his conduct was unacceptable” and his employment was terminated.