Jemele Hill's Debate

On September 11th, 2017, ESPN commentator Jemele Hill tweeted “Donald Trump is a White Supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” Because of the tweet’s polarizing nature, it caused controversy nationwide. Margaret Hill of The Washington Post defends the tweets legitimacy and ESPN’s decision to keep Hill as a commentator. Jemele Hill’s tweet made questions regarding free speech and constitutionality naturally arise. The United States provides the right to free speech barring obscenity, slander, or clear and imminent danger, but corporations are not held to this same standard. A representative for a company must ensure they are properly putting their employers in a positive light or else they could risk their

Specifically, she points out how it was improper for White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to call for Jemele Hill’s firing and “for the President of the United States to defend racists.” While some may agree this actions a reprehensible, it does not justify Jemele Hill’s actions to any extent. Furthermore, Hill of The Washington Post states that since ESPN is a news organization devoted to sports and that it is “more personality-driven than ever before,” it was proper for Jemele to publicly criticize President Trump as a representative of a sports media network. While this is an interesting viewpoint, it is not a consistent one, as ESPN fired commentator Curt Schilling in April of 2016 by retweeting a meme mocking transgender bathroom laws. While I don’t agree with Schilling nor J. Hill’s actions, their acts were essentially identical and I believe they deserve equal punishment by ESPN. Since ESPN is a news network and not a courthouse, they are entitled to the firing or sustaining of any employee they choose. Since Jemele Hill’s political views pander towards the left and Schilling’s towards the right, only Schilling got the boot, which in my eyes, is inappropriate by the organization. As Margaret Hill ultimately concludes her article on The Washington Post by writing “shutting down voices such as Jemele Hill’s is worse than inappropriate. It’s dangerous,” I disagree with her analysis of Jemele Hill as a free speech folk hero rather than a sports commentator feeling self entitled to political