The White House on Wednesday responded to ESPN SportsCenter host Jemele Hill’s comments on Twitter, where she called President Donald Trump a “white supremacist.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said during a press conference that Hill’s tweet about the president was “one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN.”
ESPN made clear Tuesday that the cable sports channel’s views do not reflect those of Hill.
“The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate,” ESPN said in a statement.
Hill posted the tweet about Trump during an exchange she had with other Twitter users about Kid Rock, who had recently given a racially charged speech during a concert. Hill had posted an article about the singer and was responding to comments about that.
It is unclear whether ESPN will discipline Hill for her comments. ESPN suspended Hill once before, in 2008, when she compared rooting for the Boston Celtics to having sympathy for Adolf Hitler in a column.
Hill, who was a sports writer at The News & Observer from 1997-99, declined to comment Tuesday night.
Here is how Twitter users, including NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, reacted to Hill’s tweet:
We are with you @jemelehill ✊
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 13, 2017
Love my friend/colleague @jemelehill...gonna hold u down out here
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) September 13, 2017
"I think that's one of the more outrageous comments" anyone can make, says @PressSec of @jemelehill tweet, calling it "fireable offense"
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) September 13, 2017
Ok, that's absurd. You can't complain about Mozilla firing Brendan Eich and then say ESPN should fire Jemele Hill. https://t.co/n4ZpSMpMW6
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 13, 2017
If I hear one more PRIVILEGED black celebrity run their mouth about "white supremacy" I may just vomit! @jemelehill worry about sports
— Republican Barbie® (@RepBarbie88) September 13, 2017
.@WhitlockJason on @ESPN: "Their no-action here against @jemelehill is a clear sign that they're in agreement." https://t.co/Se9nD29Qyp pic.twitter.com/YyWDPFvLOk
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 13, 2017
ESPN Gives @jemelehill Wrist Slap After Calling President Trump a ‘White Supremacist’ Meanwhile, they FIRED Curt Schilling #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/SZ6S5F7bNq
— Cris (@ThePatriot143) September 13, 2017
Today, the White House press secretary used the people's podium to call for the firing of an individual citizen, @jemelehill. Take that in.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 13, 2017
I spoke to some ESPN employees about @jemelehill's Trump comments including @JimTrotter_NFL: https://t.co/mJck6Ypceo pic.twitter.com/hE1W1sDPHq
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) September 13, 2017
Joe Johnson contributed.
Jonathan M. Alexander: 919-829-4822, @jonmalexander
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