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ESPN suspends Jemele Hill over tweets

Posted at 3:48 PM, Oct 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-09 15:48:45-04

BRISTOL, Conn. — ESPN has suspended host Jemele Hill for two weeks due to “a second violation of our social media guidelines,” the network announced Monday afternoon.

Hill “previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet,” ESPN said in a statement. “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.”

On Sunday, Hill tweeted about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones having said that any player who “disrespects the flag” will not play. Hill said that “Jerry Jones also has created a problem for his players, specifically the black ones. If they don’t kneel, some will see them as sellouts.”

She later said, “If you strongly reject what Jerry Jones said, the key is his advertisers. Don’t place the burden squarely on the players.”

“Just so we’re clear: I’m not advocating a NFL boycott,” Hill tweeted. “But an unfair burden has been put on players in Dallas & Miami w/ anthem directives.”

The suspension comes weeks after Hill was the center of another controversy, sparked when she called President Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter.