COMMENTARY: ESPN’s Jemele Hill suspended after response to Jerry Jones

Photo+courtesy+of+the+official+Entertainment+and+Sports+Programming+Network+%28ESPN%29+YouTube+page.

Photo courtesy of the official Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) YouTube page.

Kevin Nobs, Contributor

National anthem protests are the center of attention in the National Football League (NFL).

Two weeks after the Dallas Cowboys knelt as a team prior to the anthem, team owner Jerry Jones threatened to sit players who protest during the anthem.

“If there’s anything disrespectful to the flag, then we will not play,” said Jones.

Listen to Jones’ interview with ESPN and 105.3 The Fan here.

The problem is many players in the NFL, including Jones’ Cowboys, constantly claim they are not disrespecting the flag by protesting. They are simply attempting to raise awareness about racial inequality and police brutality.

Many Dallas Cowboys players have expressed their desire to protest, but Jones’ new verbal policy will prohibit them from doing so.

Jemele Hill, co-host of ESPN’s six o’clock SportsCenter, sent out a series of tweets in response to Jones’ policy.

Hill wasn’t directly advocating an NFL boycott, but simply suggested ways people offended by Jones’ comments can avoid companies that advertise the Dallas Cowboys. These aren’t Hill’s first controversial tweets, however.

ESPN suspended Hill for violating their social media guidelines.

Hill wasn’t directly advocating an NFL boycott, but simply suggested ways people offended by Jones’ comments can avoid companies that advertise the Dallas Cowboys.

These aren’t Hill’s first controversial tweets, however.

Hill called President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter. Following that post, ESPN put out a statement that Hill’s words do not “represent the position of ESPN.”

She also retweeted former NFL player Andrew Hawkins (@Hawk) when Hawkins’ referenced how hypocritical the NFL is based on who is allowed to play in the league.

This, like other posts, drew plenty of controversy. It is within Hill’s first amendment right to express her feelings, but what writers, reporters, producers and others can post about on social media platforms.

This, like other posts, drew plenty of controversy.

It is within Hill’s first amendment right to express her feelings, but ESPN regulates what writers, reporters, producers and others can post about on social media platforms. Hill crossed the line. Although her suspension is only two weeks, ESPN wants to send a message.

Similar to the NFL, many executives at ESPN are against national anthem protests, and made it very clear with the suspension.

In April 2016, former ESPN analyst Curt Schilling was fired over an offensive Facebook post referring to a law in North Carolina related to transgender people and bathrooms.

The network most likely suspended Hill due to the backlash her posts drew from fans. She was only expressing her feelings and made some good points.

Hill returned to The Six tonight.

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