Post wrongly suggests Disney announced layoffs for Stephen A. Smith, Jemele Hill | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Post implies 'woke' ESPN has fired Stephen A. Smith and Jemele Hill

A March 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes side-by-side photos of sports journalist Jemele Hill and TV commentator Stephen A. Smith.

"BREAKING: 'Woke' ESPN Just Fired A Ton Of Their Staff!" reads text on the post, which includes a link to an apparent news article. "GO WOKE GO BROKE: ESPN & Disney Announce Shocking Layoffs for Major Personalities."

Social media users appeared to take the post as evidence the network had fired Hill and Smith.

"Smith should of been fired long ago," one user wrote.

Similar posts were also shared on Facebook.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. Smith has not been dismissed by ESPN, a representative said. He has continued to appear on the network. Hill left ESPN in 2018.

Post rehashes 2023 staff cuts at ESPN

Smith, executive producer and commentator on ESPN's "First Take," has not been fired or laid off by the network, his representative Shaun Kimbrow told USA TODAY. Smith has appeared on "First Take" since the post was published.

Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, left ESPN in 2018. In her 2022 memoir "Uphill," Hill writes that she joined the network as a columnist in 2006 and went on to host the TV shows "His & Hers" and "SportsCenter" before entering a turbulent period in 2017 after calling then-President Donald Trump a "white supremacist" in a post on Twitter, now X. Hill initiated the discussions leading to her departure, she writes in the book.

The article linked in the Facebook post also does not mention Smith or Hill. It rehashes staff cuts at ESPN that were reported in June 2023.

Fact check: Satirical post about Disney CEO and 'going woke' fools many

The Facebook user who shared the post did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ESPN also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Post wrongly implies Stephen A. Smith 'fired' from ESPN | Fact check