The talk of the sports world on Monday afternoon was, once again, ESPN and SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill. The SC6 host found herself in hot water with her employer once again for things said on social media, after she sent a number of tweets on Sunday night about Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.
The tweets most have pinpointed as the ones that caused ESPN to suspend Hill for two weeks were those in which she mentioned the most effective ways Cowboys fans could send a message to Jerry Jones would be by not watching games or purchasing from sponsors.
If the rationale behind JJ's stance is keeping the fanbase happy, make him see that he is underestimated how all of his fanbase feels https://t.co/45ZDibcWNH
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 9, 2017
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
While Hill would later tweet that she wasn’t encouraging or suggesting a boycott, the initial tweets were enough to earn her a suspension as ESPN holds NFL broadcast rights and likely some of the same advertisers as the Cowboys.
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
ESPN cited this being her second violation of their social media policy as being the official reason for her suspension, referring to her tweets about Donald Trump being a white supremacist that led to the White House calling for her firing. Unsurprisingly, on Tuesday morning, Donald Trump took Hill’s suspension as an opportunity to take a victory lap of sorts on Twitter and attack her and ESPN’s ratings.
With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have "tanked," in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
Trump continues to push the narrative that ESPN is dropping in ratings due to the company having liberal hosts and pushing some kind of liberal agenda. He wasn’t done there. The now seemingly daily early morning tweetstorm from Trump also included him coming after the NFL and putting pressure on owners once again over protests.
Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
This comes after Trump praised Jerry Jones for telling players they won’t be allowed to play if they take a knee or protest in another way during the anthem. Trump is, again, trying to coerce owners into forcing players to not exercise their right to protest and is doing so this time by threatening them financially with regards to the tax breaks the league receives.
