ESPN should speak up alongside Jemele Hill
ESPN should support Jemele Hill. In his
column “For ESPN and Jemele Hill, mixing politics and sports is bad business,” Christian Schneider recognizes Hill’s statements were accurate, he just doesn’t seem to think they financially profit the company. But that’s not why individuals and companies with a conscience should speak out. ESPN should support civil rights when it matters. ESPN benefits from the diversity in the sports it covers, from the diversity of its staff and audiences.
In addition, ESPN should be aware and concerned that athletes it covers are targets of racism in social media during this Trump era. Trolls are waging hate speech campaigns, and some admit they are pro-President Trump. Prominent targets of the trolls are African-American athletes. Even Russian-backed Fancy Bears illegally hacked the medical records of American Olympic athletes, including Simone Biles, and Serena and Venus Williams. Where was ESPN on this issue? Why isn’t ESPN calling for the president to respond to illegal Russian hacking and racial harassment of American athletes? Trump’s silence is telling.
ESPN should be adding its voice to Hill’s. Whenever civil rights concerns would affect the athletes it covers, its staff and its audiences, ESPN should speak. Not because it’s easy or profitable, but because it’s the moral, responsible thing to do. Joseph Weinzettle
Tarpon Springs, Fla.