ESPN has long tried its best to keep its personalities from voicing overt political opinions on their airwaves or via social media, but in recent years their efforts to have employees “stick to sports” has come undone. As this has happened, the sports media giant has dealt with backlash from those who feel a political slant or agenda has become more and more prevalent on ESPN programming and from ESPN’s personalities.
This has been the sole focus of the company’s biggest critic, Clay Travis, and there are plenty who have followed his lead in pointing to a decline in ratings and subscriptions to ESPN becoming more politicized, rather than noting the general decline of the cable TV bundle and the rise of web streaming services and the effect that has on advertising dollars.
Those criticisms often lead to ESPN being quick to release a statement when a personality takes to Twitter to voice political opinions. That’s what happened on Tuesday, as ESPN responded to a lengthy Twitter tirade from SportsCenter host Jemele Hill regarding Donald Trump and his ties to white supremacy.
ESPN Statement on Jemele Hill: pic.twitter.com/3kfexjx9zQ
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 12, 2017
The tweets in question from Hill happened on Monday night, as she let loose on followers with a string of tweets explaining why Trump surrounding himself with white supremacists told the story about his beliefs as well as expounding on why he is, just generally, a failure as a leader and president.
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
The height of white privilege is being able to ✌🏾ignore✌🏾his white supremacy, because it's of no threat to you. Well, it's a threat to me.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
He has surrounded himself with white supremacists — no they are not "alt right" — and you want me to believe he isn't a white supremacist?
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
No the media doesn't make it a threat. It IS a threat. He has empowered white supremacists (see: Charlottesville).
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
How is it a "false narrative?" Did he hire and court white supremacists? Answer: YES
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
You just don't want to believe it because it's too unpleasant. But that doesn't change the facts.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
He is unqualified and unfit to be president. He is not a leader. And if he were not white, he never would have been elected
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
Donald Trump is a bigot. Glad you could live with voting for him. I couldn't, because I cared about more than just myself
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
I hate a lot of things but not enough to jeopardize my fellow citizens with an unfit, bigoted, incompetent moron. But hey, that's just me.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
And it's funny how you cling to Benghazi but I bet you didn't give one thought to what Trump said about the Central Park 5
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
You yell about Benghazi but I bet you didn't care at all about him having to settle the largest racial housing discrimination case in NYC
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 12, 2017
Hill’s statements aren’t false — he’s hired white supremacists to work on his advisory staff, refused to condemn white supremacists, and his statements about the Central Park 5 speak for themselves — but taking on Trump directly on Twitter is generally a no-no at ESPN and resulted in the statement above and attempt at avoiding too much of a firestorm.
