Jemele Hill has long been controversial, from past incidents at ESPN to her recent tweets that caused a rift with the network.
Jemele Hill joined ESPN in November 2006 as a national columnist.
She appeared regularly on SportsCenter, First Take, and Outside the Lines and worked as a sideline reporter during college football games.
Highlights
- Jemele Hill mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that the platform had become “largely untenable.”
- She told her followers that she now spends most of her time on Bluesky, a platform where many left-leaning users have migrated to protest Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump.
- A user on X agreed with Hill and suggested that using the block button is the easiest way to deal with people you don’t want to hear from.
In 2008, Hill was suspended after making controversial comments in an article about the Boston Celtics.
She compared rooting for the team to saying Hitler was a victim, which sparked backlash.
The controversial part of the article was quickly removed, and Hill later explained that her comments were partly about race, pointing to tensions between black audiences and the primarily white Celtics teams.
Thus, she was suspended for a week and issued an apology.
Again, on September 11, 2017, Jemele Hill tweeted that President Trump was a “white supremacist,” which led Sarah Huckabee Sanders to call for her firing.
Next, in October 2017, Hill was suspended for two weeks after a second violation of ESPN’s social media policy.
This was related to her encouraging a boycott of Cowboys’ sponsors in response to Jerry Jones’ stance on protesting players.
Jemele Hill Supports LeBron James For Taking Hiatus From The Social Media
When LeBron James announced he was taking a break from social media, many people, including former ESPN personality Jemele Hill, weighed in on the decision.
Hill supported James’ choice, praising him for stepping away.
She mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that the platform had become “largely untenable.”
Though she recognized the decision was personal, she admitted that she selfishly hoped he would deactivate his account for good.
The conversation in the comments section under Hill’s post quickly escalated when one user suggested that the left is bothered by having to engage with “uncensored oppositional politics,” calling it a “soft move.”
Hill responded that some people seem to think enduring constant hate and engaging with rude, toxic individuals is a mark of strength.
She added,
“This app has sunk to an all-time low. It’s filled with racists, conspiracy theorists, and bullies. If that’s what you think is intellectually challenging, then God help you.”
Jemele Hill
Jemele Hill Prefers Bluesky In Comparision To Twitter
It seems Jemele Hill is considering leaving X (formerly Twitter) herself.
She told her followers that she now spends most of her time on Bluesky, a platform where many left-leaning users have migrated to protest Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump.
You all are under the twisted belief that subjecting yourself to constant vitriol and engaging with assholes is some kind of badge of honor. It’s not. It’s annoying and draining. Nobody owes you a debate or engagement.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 21, 2024
This app is at an all-time low. It’s full of racists,… https://t.co/v8z7sq8NEt
On November 14, Jemele Hill responded to a comment, mentioning that Bluesky feels similar to X so far, as she’s been able to follow many of the same people she follows on the platform.
In response, some people wondered why Jemele Hill was complaining, saying it would be hard for her to build the same kind of following on Bluesky that she has on X.
Others disagreed, saying that the odds weren’t against her. However, they added that while Bluesky might have the audience, it’s X where you get the visibility—something Hill likely already knows.
Hill explained that she’s fed up with the constant harassment from trolls on X.
In response to one user, she pointed out the irony of people who call others “snowflakes” while hurling insults at her daily.
She said, “It’s not challenging someone’s beliefs to call them a name 100 times a day,” and also criticized Musk for changing the platform’s block features.
She added,
“Nobody owes you engagement.”
Jemele Hill
A user on X agreed with Hill and suggested that using the block button is the easiest way to deal with people you don’t want to hear from.
They also pointed out that there’s a stereotype of people on the left being called “snowflakes,” which Hill responded to.
Hill remarked that those who often use the term “snowflake” are usually the weakest. She added that insulting someone repeatedly isn’t about challenging ideas.
She also mentioned that Musk had changed the platform’s block features and reminded everyone that they are not obligated to engage with others online.
Additional Information
- Jemele has been married to Ian Wallace, aka H. WooD, since 2009. On November 10, the duo celebrated their fifth anniversary.
- In 2007, Hill received the first-ever McKenzie Cup, presented at the Poynter Media Summit in honor of sports editor Van McKenzie.
- In 2017, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding News Special for her work on ABC News’ The President and The People.
 that the platform had become "largely untenable." She told her followers that she now spends most of her time on Bluesky,){kind=link}