Back when Jemele Hill got hired at ESPN in the mid-2000s, it was still the kingdom of the sports reporter.
Tony Kornheiser, Skip Bayless and Stuart Scott were the stars, and if that didn’t make it clear enough, the network literally called its big weekend show The Sports Reporters.
These days, the pipeline to the Worldwide Leader happens on the gridiron, the hardwood and the diamond. Athletes graduate from being the stars of ESPN’s game broadcasts directly to its studio and talk shows. Just look at Jason Kelce, Kendrick Perkins or P.K. Subban. Look beyond ESPN and you see this dynamic at other networks, and even more so in podcasting and digital media.
Former athletes in sports media isn’t new, but there are more of them — and the ladder that they climb to top jobs is shorter than ever.
In the latest episode of her Spolitics podcast, Hill laid out how the industry has evolved due to this change, and the one thing she finds funniest about athletes taking over the media.
“The reality is that when it comes to sports media, if you played the sport before, you’re going to have a little bit more leverage and you’re probably going to be a little more attractive to hire than, say, a sports journalist,” Hill explained. “And my fear is that as you see more and more players continue to get into this arena, what you’ll see is that that will kind of … phase out the sports journalist.”
While Hill made it clear she is entertained and informed by the athlete point of view in sports media, she believes there is still a place for observations and takes that are gleaned from reporting and observing as well. Some athletes might even agree with her, but networks have tilted so far toward athletes with their hiring decisions that the athlete perspective is sometimes the only one being given.
“I think not making room for everybody is the fault of the industry. I don’t fault the players,” Hill said. “I don’t look at them as competition, or as they’re stealing my job. But I hope people understand that sports journalists bring something to the table too … a lot of us are able to see things, observe things, and even say things that the players are not.”
While networks sort out their priorities and journalists try not to get drowned out by the new voices, Hill is glad about one thing.
With athletes finally getting a spotlight in sports media, the rest of the sports world finally gets to hear directly from athletes with the sillier opinions that reporters heard from them for years.
“One thing I am glad about, having all these different athletes that are now in the sports media space, the one thing I really love about it is that y’all can see that they got some crazy-a** opinions too,” Hill laughed. “The media has taken a lot of shots for our opinions and our hot takes, but as you see, the players are no better.”
We’ve seen a learning curve from athletes who get a shot in the media and end up falling back on the same hot takes and clichés that sports journalists use. Breaking through is hard, and big opinions and loud voices work best.