Many on social media rallied behind Jemele Hill when it was announced Oct. 9 ESPN would suspend the SportsCenter broadcaster because of her personal tweets, which violated the network’s social media guidelines.
Hill came under fire for calling Donald Trump a white supremacist, and then suggested NFL fans boycott advertisers connected to the Dallas Cowboys after owner Jerry Jones said any player who took a knee during the National Anthem would be benched.
This play always work. Change happens when advertisers are impacted. If you feel strongly about JJ’s statement, boycott his advertisers. https://t.co/LFXJ9YQe74
— 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
Since the suspension, Hill has remained relatively quiet on social media. However, TMZ caught up with Hill On Saturday (Oct. 22) and asked her how she feels about everything, to which The Michigan State alum said she understands why ESPN did what they did.
“Me and ESPN are fine. We’re in a good place and I’m happy to be back at the network,” she said. “So, here’s how this works: It doesn’t really matter what I think. It matters to people, but here’s the reality: ESPN acted on what they felt was right, and, you know, I don’t have any argument or quibble with that. I would tell people, absolutely, after my Donald Trump tweets, I deserved that suspension. I deserved it. Like, absolutely. I violated the policy; I deserved that suspension.”
Hill continued by saying the only thing she truly regrets is putting her employers between a rock and a hard place.
“The only thing I’ll ever apologize for is, I put ESPN in a bad spot. I’ll never take back what I said. I put them in a bad spot, that’s the truth of it. I regret the position I put them in. I regret, a lot of the people I work with, the position we put our show in. I’ll never take back what I said.”
Hill returns to SC6 with co-host Michael Smith Monday. (Oct. 23)