Posted on 09/14/2017 7:27:12 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
ESPN anchor Jemele Hill released a statement late Wednesday about her tweets that President Donald Trump is a "white supremacist," saying her remarks expressed her own views but regretting she put the network in an "unfair light."
"My comments on Twitter expressed my personal beliefs," the SportsCenter host wrote in a screen-shotted statement she tweeted. "My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light. My respect for the company and my colleagues remains unconditional."
ESPN released a statement through CNN's Brian Stelter that Hill had a right to express her political opinions but not in a way that suggested it represented the network. ESPN has dealt with perceptions of a liberal bias in its coverage.
"Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN," she said. "She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology."
Hill fired off a series of tweets Monday night about Trump and his team, calling him a white supremacist and the most "ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime." ESPN's public relations Twitter account released a statement Tuesday that her tweets were "inappropriate."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemned Hill from the podium Tuesday, calling it a "fireable offense."
Other ESPN employees have publicly expressed support for Hill in the wake of the controversy, as has NFL quarterback and national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick.
Colin Kaepernick ✔ @Kaepernick7 We are with you @jemelehill ✊🏾 10:32 PM - Sep 12, 2017
Michael Wilbon ✔ @RealMikeWilbon Happy to stand w my friend and colleague Jemele Hill any time and anywhere...especially now...
Jalen Rose ✔ @JalenRose #StandWithJemele https://twitter.com/MarcJSpearsESPN/status/908121739418374145 … 8:19 PM - Sep 13, 2017
Jorge Sedano ✔ @SedanoESPN We are. @Locs_n_Laughs wrote a great piece and it's on his timeline. #StandWithJemele https://twitter.com/thechrisarmas/status/907958484972343296 … 9:29 AM - Sep 13, 2017
It was the latest public relations headache for ESPN, coming on the heels of an embarrassing episode where it yanked Asian-American broadcaster Robert Lee from covering a Virginia football game in the wake of the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va.
The reasoning: His name was too similar to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and ESPN feared he would become an online punchline.
Already forgiven. Meanwhile, ESPN’s ratings are in the tank.
Hopefully with the NFL rating being way down and stadiums empty, it starts to hit the players in their bank accounts. I want them to pay. Then some of them might start telling the idiots to shut up.
‘I regret’? ‘I REGRET’???
Phony symbolism. She should have been shown the door like the Conservatives were. I would boycott ESPN, but haven’t watched it in years anyway.
According to Wiki, Hill attended a post secondary institute but it makes no mention of a degree. Were she white she would have been a deplorable and likely voted for Trump.
Being a drop-out is apparently okle-dokle if you’re a Liberal. Just like Peter Jennings.
Guess I’ll take advantage of my “White Privilege” and NOT watch ESPN. Hope that don’t make me a “Racist”
Only a week ago, I accidentally switched to ESPN by punching in the wrong number on my remote. She was on. In the space of just several seconds, before I switched the channel, she said something racist.
Conservatives and semi-conservatives have been fired from ESPN for much less.
Fire her.
She truly believes what she says. She must believe that all the Americans who support the President are also white supremists. She is an ambassador of hate and lies and ignorance.
NOPE.
A single innocent excited exclamation, “Look at that monkey run..!” all by itself killed the entire career of Jimmy the Greek.
And the funny thing is he wasn’t referring to race at all.
But just like that, poof, he was gone.
forever.
Are you kidding me??? If ANY Espn employee at any point would have said “Barak Obama is a black supremacist” they would have been fired and humiliated.
Scrambling to save her high paying job.
She’s not sorry for anything but getting called out.
Howard CoSELL said, “Look at that little monkey run.”
It didn’t hurt his career a bit.
Jimmy the Greek, drunk at a Washington DC restaurant, said that black slaves were bred to be strong.
He was fired instantly.
Thank you!
I wasn’t even born yet then but I will remember your correction.
She regrets that some people were annoyed by her tweets
Seems there’s a pattern with this idiot.
During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Hill was suspended from her post after referencing Adolf Hitler in an article about the then-NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. In an editorial describing why she could not support the Celtics, Hill wrote: “Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim.
Too bad. I would have found her not guilty fo sure. lol
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