SportsCenter co-host Jemele Hill made waves a couple of weeks back regarding her comments about President Donald Trump. The network was less than pleased, to say nothing of the White House.
Now, the sports personality has received an unpaid two-week vacation after she ostensibly called for a boycott of NFL advertisers. The network is facing a backlash from her Leftist fans.
ESPN, already unpopular with conservatives, is now facing the possibility of a boycott from furious liberals over the sports network’s suspension of host Jemele Hill.
ESPN suspended Hill for calling for a boycott of the Dallas Cowboys’ advertisers after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened to bench any player who kneeled during the anthem. Hill’s boycott was her second violation of ESPN’s social media policies, the network said. She previously stirred controversy by calling President Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter.
The backlash against ESPN for Hill’s suspension began almost immediately among left-wing activists and celebrities, many of whom used the hashtag “#BoycottESPN” on social media.
“Dear [ESPN] suspending [Jemele Hill] doesn’t make you seem biased, bigoted or racist all,” actor Greg Proops wrote. “Boo. Not watching till she’s back.”
Hill’s comments, however, certainly appeared to have supported the idea of a boycott of advertisers for NFL teams:
If you strongly reject what Jerry Jones said, the key is his advertisers. Don’t place the burden squarely on the players. https://t.co/Gc48kchkuv
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 9, 2017
The tweet she was quoting comes from an account that is now protected. Several tweets later, she followed up with this:
Just so we’re clear: I’m not advocating a NFL boycott. But an unfair burden has been put on players in Dallas & Miami w/ anthem directives.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 9, 2017
It sure sounds like she advocated for a boycott. The most generous reading of that first tweet is that she offered advice to people who may want to boycott the NFL, which has a business relationship with her employer. If the NFL is boycotted, it has an impact on ESPN’s bottom line.
And no, it doesn’t matter that ESPN doesn’t have any more Cowboys games on their schedule. The Cowboys will likely maintain their Anthem stance for seasons to come, which means a boycott of games on ESPN next season and beyond.
Hill embarrassed her employer. Again.
Yes, she has the freedom to say whatever she wants, but ESPN had a policy that was already standing, and in suspending her, ESPN followed its policy. Period.
If people want to boycott them for it, so be it. Maybe it’ll pressure the network to drop politics completely and just focus on, you know, sports.
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