SportsCenter host Jemele Hill was suspended two weeks for violating ESPN’s social media policy.
ESPN suspended SportsCenter host Jemele Hill on Monday for two weeks for violating the network’s social media policy.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on Sunday that if any of his players kneeled during the national anthem that they wouldn’t play in the game.
“I don’t know about that. But if there is anything that is disrespectful to the flag then we will not play,” he told Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “You understand? If we are disrespecting the flag then we won’t play. Period. We’re going to respect the flag, and I’m going to create the perception of it. And we have.”
Hill responded by suggesting that fans who don’t agree with Jones should boycott the Cowboys advertisers.
“Change happens when advertisers are impacted,” she tweeted, per Ken Belson and Kevin Draper of the New York Times. “If you feel strongly about JJ’s statement, boycott his advertisers.”
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
ESPN said in a statement that Hill had previously acknowledged that she let her colleagues and company down with a previous tweet.
“Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines,” the network said in its statement, per Amara Grautski of the New York Daily News. “She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet. In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision.”
Last month, Hill called President Trump a white supremacist on Twitter. According to Tony Maglio of The Wrap, Michael Smith will not host SportsCenter at 6 tonight.
