ESPN exposes its hypocrisy in suspending Hill
ESPN, the sports television network has suspended Jemele Hill, the co-host of the flagship show SportsCenter, over a violation of the company’s social media rules. The network had previously punished Hill, an analyst and commentator, for tweeting that Donald Trump is a white supremacist.
The organization is well within its bounds to mete out uneven punishment as its sees fit. Surely, it follows the best practices of the NFL, which once suspended receiver Wes Welker for four games for using Adderall but gave running back Ray Rice a two-game suspension for domestic assault.
The preposterousness of Hill’s suspension exposes the hypocrisy of organizations like ESPN and the dangers of being an outspoken Black person in media.
Hill’s two-week suspension came after an exchange on Twitter in which she said fans who wanted to encourage protesting players of the Dallas Cowboys could boycott the advertisers who support the team. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he will bench any of his players who join in the protest against police brutality.
While Jones has only threatened to punish protest, ESPN went as far as punishing talk of protest.
Hill was keenly aware that the odds were stacked against her long before she called the president what he is — a white supremacist.
In an interview with the Ringer, Bill Simmons’ sports and culture website, Hill said, “As a black woman, I’m looking around television? — not just at ESPN but in general? — ?[and I’m seeing] a whole lot of blondes. I’m like, I ain’t blond and I ain’t white. So I don’t know what my future is in this business. Because they are not checking for me.”
ESPN’s contention is that its stars should not offer political opinions.
That is an untenable position for a Black woman like Hill or indeed for her co-host Michael Smith, a Black man. In addition to knowing the sports world, they are uniquely able to give insight into the larger issues affecting the sports world.
The current fight to fully extend the protections of civil rights to Black people — from Mothers of the Movement to Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest — is best explained and contextualized by Black people. A nuanced conversation can only be had by those who understand the nuances.
The network hired Hill precisely because she is an opinionated sports analyst. Punishing her for providing opinions on sports is a bizarre choice.
I have always been concerned that the window for conversations about and for Black people would begin to close soon. Hill’s suspension may mark the beginning of the end. Her unwillingness to temper her criticism, especially on race or to be more palatable to white audiences, is a model to follow. Her treatment also embodies the risks.
Desmond Cole’s departure from the Star was another moment that has marked this shift; he too was brought on because of his volume of journalistic talent and tenacity but was also asked to turn down the loudness of his activism.
My concern is indeed self-serving; as someone who regularly tags the prime minister in my tweets, I’m sure someone is going to pull me aside soon. And yet mine is a privileged position; there are few other Black columnists and as far as I know, only one other Black woman columnist.
These few positions of prominence are a testament to the precarious place that Black media professionals find themselves in. This preciousness of this existence is exacerbated by the fact that women, especially Black women, occupy very limited spaces. If we are there, it is on the sidelines, never in the booth calling the game.
Hill will be back on the air but ESPN’s response proves that being Black and twice as good protects no one.