On Monday, less than a month after ESPN reprimanded Jemele Hill for her tweets about Donald Trump, the network suspended the host two weeks for suggesting fans boycott Dallas Cowboys advertisers.
Immediately after ESPN announced the punishment, many prominent voices within sports media reacted, often strongly. Most who have weighed in are not exactly thrilled to see Hill suspended.
The most notable reaction came from Hill’s SC6 co-host Michael Smith, who will sit out the next show in what was described to The Wrap as a “mutual” decision with ESPN. He will reportedly return to the air Tuesday.
Though the majority of ESPN personalities seem to be sitting this one out, anchors Lindsay Czarniak and Cari Champion criticized their company’s decision.
The suspension of my friend @jemelehill is sad and disappointing on a number of levels
— . (@lindsayczarniak) October 9, 2017
Compromise your integrity? Compromise for comfort?Where can you speak or say how you feel? Or is it about how you say it?
— Cari Champion (@CariChampion) October 9, 2017
Update: It turns out Czarniak no longer works for ESPN.
Some former ESPNers chimed in with criticism as well. Ex-anchor Robert Flores suggested that the suspension of Hill showed how ESPN values money over everything and draws a line at going after advertisers.
https://twitter.com/RoFlo/status/917472856992305152
Bill Simmons seemed to take a shot at ESPN, though he veiled it just enough that we can’t quite say for sure.
And of course plenty of others in and around sports media offered their two cents.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is an unethical creep
SportsCenter host Jemele Hill speaks the truth
ESPN picking bottom line over what's right
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/JulieDiCaro/status/917494607918837760
This should piss every journalist at @ESPN off because this wasn't calling Trump a "white supremacist" or any kind of attack on anyone.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) October 9, 2017
It was journalism. Shame on ESPN. Fortuitous that you hired Katie Nolan last week because this is truly garbage time for the #WWL.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) October 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/917472246150696960
https://twitter.com/jtylerconway/status/917472597629177856
Jemele Hill proving what @BillSimmons taught us: Nothing gets ESPN more nervous than an employee going after the almighty NFL.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 9, 2017
The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis shared a quote from Hill in which she said she didn’t want to get fired over Twitter.
Jemele Hill to me, this summer, on the dangers of Twitter: pic.twitter.com/t87J1wfMEu
— Bryan Curtis (@bryancurtis) October 9, 2017
ESPN guru Jim Miller suggested that if ESPN can’t abide by a SportsCenter host sharing politics-adjacent opinions on social media, it needs to find a new role for Hill.
Does @jemelehill attachment to @sportscenter brand suggest she has smaller margin of error re social media? If so, time to admit she & #SC6 a bad match. If not, keep your seat belt fastened. #jemelehill
— james andrew miller (@JimMiller) October 9, 2017
And finally, in case you thought maybe the Hill saga was due to die down a bit, Rev. Al Sharpton has gotten involved.
ESPN's suspension of Jemele Hill is an outrage and should NOT go unanswered. ESPN and advertisers will hear from us!
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) October 9, 2017
Time will tell where this story goes from here, but the decision to suspend Hill over her tweets have been and will continue to be incredibly polarizing.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.