ESPN’s Hill suspended for tweets about NFL
HARTFORD, Conn. — ESPN suspended anchor Jemele Hill yesterday for two weeks for making political statements on social media.
Hill, an African-American cohost of the 6 p.m. broadcast of “SportsCenter,” received backlash last month after referring to President Trump as a “white supremacist” in a series of tweets that referenced the president’s comments about a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Trump later suggested that NFL players be fired for not standing during the national anthem. In tweets Sunday, Hill targeted Jerry Jones after the Dallas Cowboys owner stated that players who disrespect the flag would not play for his team.
Hill suggested on Twitter that fans who disagree with Jones should boycott the team’s advertisers and not buy the team’s merchandise.
“Cowboys have a huge national following,” she wrote in one of a series of tweets. “Lot of black & brown folks are Cowboys fans. What if they turned their backs on them?”
She clarified yesterday she was not calling for an NFL boycott.
ESPN said in a statement that Hill had acknowledged “letting her colleagues and company down” with the Trump tweet.
“In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision,” the statement said.