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ESPN has suspended Jemele Hill, the ESPN anchor who previously called President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter, for two weeks over her social media use.
ESPN’s statement, reported by the Hollywood Reporter:
Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines. She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive 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.
It’s unclear which tweets ESPN is referring to in its statement.
But in Hill’s latest controversial tweets, she criticized Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for saying that he wouldn’t let any player “who disrespects the flag” — presumably by refusing to stand for the national anthem — on the field. She tweeted that this put the players in a tough spot.
Jerry Jones also has created a problem for his players, specifically the black ones. If they don't kneel, some will see them as sellouts.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 9, 2017
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
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
Last month, Hill drew criticism from conservatives, including the White House, for tweeting that Trump is “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”
At the time, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “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.”
Trump also chimed in later on Twitter, arguing that people are ditching ESPN “in RECORD numbers” due to “its politics.” He also demanded an apology.
ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2017
Hill never apologized to Trump or the White House. But she acknowledged in a column that she let down her bosses and colleagues, writing that “Twitter wasn’t the place to vent my frustrations because, fair or not, people can't or won't separate who I am on Twitter from the person who co-hosts the 6 p.m. SportsCenter.”
Trump’s White House never got what they wanted for that tweet. But now Hill has been suspended, seemingly for other tweets.
