ESPN suspends Jemele Hill for second violation of social media policy

ESPN has announced that it has suspended Jemele Hill, currently co-host of the 6 p.m. weekday “SportsCenter”, affectionately called “The Six,” for two weeks after a second violation of the company’s social media policy.

“Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines,” ESPN said in a statement. “She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet. In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision.”

It’s unclear which tweet or tweets landed Hill in hot water with ESPN; on Sunday, after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters that Cowboys played who kneeled during the national anthem would not play, she did send some tweets saying that Jones has put his players in a difficult position with his proclamation.

When fans angered by what Jones said asked what could be done, Hill suggested that if they felt strongly enough, they could boycott companies who sponsor the Cowboys and NFL, but she made it clear she was not personally calling for anyone to boycott.

UPDATE: Josh Krulewitz, who works in public relations for ESPN, indicated that the above tweet is the one that led to Hill’s punishment. But in a subsequent tweet, Hill states that she is “not advocating a NFL boycott” but in ESPN’s eyes, she had gone too far.

Entertainment website The Wrap is reporting that Hill’s co-host on “The Six,” Michael Smith, is sitting out Monday’s show after the decision to suspend his close friend came down. The Wrap said the decision was mutual between Smith and ESPN management, and that he will be back on Tuesday.

Last month, Hill drew the ire of many when she tweeted that President Donald Trump is a white supremacist.