Jemele Hill to TMZ: Suspension was ‘deserved’
“SportsCenter” co-host Jemele Hill says she “deserved” her two-week suspension from ESPN, telling TMZ she put the network in “a bad spot.”
Hill, a Detroit native and Michigan State alum, returns to work Monday following her punishment for violating ESPN’s social-media rules. The firestorm surrounding Hill began last month, when she called President Trump a “white supremacist.” That drew a harsh response from the White House, with Trump’s spokesman calling the comments a “fireable offense.”
Hill later lashed out on Twitter at Jerry Jones, urging those upset with the Dallas Cowboys’ owner to boycott his sponsors for his stance on players kneeling for the national anthem.
It was the second offense that earned her the two-week suspension from ESPN, despite strong support from colleagues and athletes across the country.
“I deserved a suspension,” Hill told TMZ at the airport in Los Angeles. “I violated the policy. Going forward we’ll be in a good, healthy place.
“I don’t feel suppressed. I love ESPN as much as ever. I am OK. I feel good.”