First, Dana Jacobsen, now Jemele Hill. Jemele, didn’t you get the Jacobsen memo? ESPN may have hired you to be confrontational, but don’t either of you understand that being offensive, insulting and bigoted are intolerable?
ESPN’s Jemele Hill wrote this past Saturday that, "rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It’s like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan."
Apologies
Jemele Hill's personal apology:
"I deeply regret the comment I made in a column Saturday. In expressing my passion for the NBA and my hometown of Detroit I showed very poor judgment in the words that I used. I pride myself on an understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity - and there is no excuse for the appalling lack of sensitivity in my comments. It in no way reflects the person I am. I apologize to all of my readers and I thank them for holding me accountable. This has been an important lesson for me and illustrates that, like many people, I still have a lot of growing and learning to do."
Are these apologies scripted? Does ESPN just pull The Apology Form from its files and fill in the blanks?
Dana Jacobsen’s apology:
"I am sorry. My remarks about Notre Dame were foolish and insensitive. I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words. I also deeply regret the embarrassment I've caused ESPN and Mike and Mike. My actions at the roast were inappropriate and in no way represent who I am. I won't make excuses for my behavior, but I do hope I can be forgiven for such a poor lack of judgment."
Jacobsen apologized for drunken remarks at a roast (shown above) that included according to listeners – “f… Notre Dame”, “f…. Touchdown Jesus” and referred to the “fighting f…ing Irish”. Some in attendance felt she said “f… Jesus”. ESPN did not release their tape of the roast to dispute her alleged remarks.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Jemele Hill has apologized for her feelings before - to the Duke lacrosse team: “I never wrote it, but I felt it…if there is anything to be learned from Don Imus' fall, it's that real apologies are never accompanied by rationalizations…I'm sorry…It's not enough, and I won't pretend that it is…Not that this is a contest to see who was wronged the most, but the Rutgers women's basketball team at least received justice, because Imus was suspended and dropped by MSNBC, which simulcasts his morning show. Plenty of people are outraged on their behalf…I can't deny that your race, gender and class have everything to do with how you were treated then and how you are treated now.”
In April, 2007 Hill called for Don Imus to lose his job for his on-air remark referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as “nappy-headed hos”. Her solution? “He is routinely offensive to people of color and women and if he needs to lose his job to understand there is no place for that, so be it.” Jemele, you need to speak to ESPN HR about how to deal with intolerance.
ESPN's Failure, "It Feels Good to Hate"
ESPN apologizes for Hill’s Hitler comparison by explaining “our system of checks and balances failed Jemele and our readers and we are addressing that as well”. What a joke! ESPN published a Hill column from December 26th, 2007 on her feelings about the Celtics - “Hating is Good”. Hill wrote one of the two things that defined her childhood was the Boston Celtics – “The other (Celtics) I hated with every human fiber.” And “so I can bear the nausea of seeing the Celtics rise again because they’ve jump-started my hate cable, which hasn’t been this revved up since the late ‘80s…Man, it feels good to hate.”
From Hill’s column “Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics” on June 15th, 2008, from which the Hitler and nuclear war remarks were excerpted, ESPN’s heightened “system of checks and balances” and Jemele’s “passion for the NBA and my hometown of Detroit” left these remarks:
“Rooting for the Celtics is like supporting inflation, unemployment and locusts. It's like praying for Eva Mendes to get married and for Brad Pitt to be disfigured. It's like wishing dollar bills and free time for Pacman Jones. It's like hoping the pit bull doesn't take Michael Vick's pinky as a memento. It's like wanting Ron Artest's raps on repeat. It's like coveting fungus… Admittedly, to some degree it was about race. Detroit is 80 percent African-American, and as my colleague J.A. Adande stated in a fantastic piece on the Celtics earlier this season, the mostly white Celtics teams of the past had a tough time being accepted by black audiences. Boston was viewed by African-Americans as a racially intolerant city.” Her hollow apology sounds as if it is accompanied by a rationalization. She and ESPN feel comfortable leaving slurs with racial overtones against the world champion Boston Celtics.
ESPN’s actions? “She’s (Hill) been relieved of her responsibilities for a period of time to reflect on the impact of her words.” In Jacobsen’s precedent-setting case for the network, the “reflection” lasted one week. Clearly, Hill expects to be treated differently than Imus. ESPN knows hatred sells. Shame on you, ESPN.
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5 months ago
completely agree!
5 months ago
Great... Nice to know that not only ESPN (my employer) but the Mouse Ears (Disney, owner of ESPN) is allowing her to keep her job.
I'll say this. I have no issue with giving people a second chance when they make a mistake or misspeak.
But this is the poster case for not getting drunk at a company function! So it's TWO mistakes...
She got inebriated at a company function, then embarrassed herself and brought that upon the company as well.
I'd have benched her for a month without pay.
from 5 months ago
Thanks, Adam. I agree on giving people second chances, but have to wonder if these will continue at ESPN without the kind of disciplinary action you would give out. After Jacobsen got drunk and embarassed herself and the company, wouldn't you think other employees would take note? Would you get the same treatment of one week suspension if it happened to you?
5 months ago
Good article. Jemele is one of my favorite writers, but I didn't think her words were that offensive to be honest.
from 5 months ago
Thanks, Michael. Don't you think our racial backgrounds impact our perceptions? Not only of Hill's regular columns and comments, but also of what is right and wrong?
from 5 months ago
You didn't think her words were offensive? What if someone had written rooting for the Celtics is like rooting for Osama bin laden? or rooting for the taliban? or rooting for the Klan? or rooting for slavery? she compared rooting to a team to rooting for someone who started a world war and systematically killed over 6 million people due only to their religion. but those words aren't offensive? if you don't think those words were offensive, what would you find offensive?
5 months ago
I think Hill's actions were far worse than Jacobsen's. At least dana Jacobsen was drunk (maybe she shouldn't have been) at a roast. Jemelle Hill put thought into her comments. And worse yet, ESPN editors signed off on her column. Any of the editors who read her column and allowed it to be printed should also be punished. and ESPN, you get what you ask for - when you promote guys like Woody Paige and Skip Bayless who have nothing to say but they do so loudly, you give people like Jemelle Hill the impression that you can get ahead at espn even without talent if you are "controversial." How about demanding substance out of your people ESPN?
from 5 months ago
I'm not sure which one is worse, Stew. I know I don't watch Cold Pizza or whatever they call it now due to Jacobsen, Bayless and Hill. As you say, the network seems to favor argument over substance. Sad to see "sports analysts" competing for the Jerry Springer type audience. Worse to see that the standard to taking action is when enough people object.
5 months ago
I love it when those who incessantly play the race card (see her article on Lebron's King Kong cover shoot) get Karmic pay back.
from 5 months ago
She figuratively "plays the race card" in "Defending Barry Bonds" - "SMACK. Time to play the race card. Bonds' blackness is not the sole reason Bonds is in this mess. But it is a factor in why the fairness seems so skewed, why the vitriol seems so severe, why the pursuit was so unrelenting.
Bonds' most egregious error is that he is not content to play the role of the grateful black man." To her credit, she takes on the complex explanation of how race affects some athletics stories.
But wasn't both Jacobsen's and Hill's offensiveness more to do with religion or poor taste?
5 months ago
Obviously she was using massive hyperbole here. I guess if she was serious, it would more mean that she's an idiot, not necessarily a racist or whatever. I don't know how somebody could actually take her comments seriously. She should be fired for being a hack, not for being offensive.
from 5 months ago
Dan,
I think she was serious, unless you believe her apology was not heartfelt.
"I deeply regret the comment I made in a column Saturday. In expressing my passion for the NBA and my hometown of Detroit I showed very poor judgment in the words that I used. I pride myself on an understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity - and there is no excuse for the appalling lack of sensitivity in my comments. It in no way reflects the person I am. I apologize to all of my readers and I thank them for holding me accountable. This has been an important lesson for me and illustrates that, like many people, I still have a lot of growing and learning to do."
and ESPN was similarly shallow and concerned only with reaction.
5 months ago
hill is the same person that wrote a article that said randy moss had a right to quit on the Oakland Raiders. i give no credibility t what she says or writes.
5 months ago
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/31639-ESPN-Suspends-Jemele-Hill-Good-Call-or-Double-Standard--220608
Great article, Michael. you got me thinking on all facets of this controversy and inspired me to write the blog in the link above. Keep up the good work.
from 5 months ago
Thanks very much, Fred. Nice article yourself.
5 months ago
a 5 star read !
4 months ago
I think that it's a shame that espn is perceived by many as a legitimate source for news and information on sports. As any of us can see, they are most concerned with being perceived as relevant and entertaining. What a joke! They have shown, on a daily basis, that volume equals knowledge. Who thinks Bayless, Mariotti, Screamin' A., etc. are solid reporters? they are all hacks and the world would be better with them muted.
4 months ago
I am not going to say that her words were not offensive, of course they were offensive, just not to everyone obviously. It does not affect me what she says, because she is not saying like hitler is good, she is using it in a sports sentence, as an example, she wanted to make her point stronger or try to get it across much more widely. Who knows WHY she said it, she said it, and she apologized. In light of this NEW Imus blunder, it just shines more on the lack of thought that go's into some of these peoples writing. I truely think the people that do not slip up are cautious of what they say. Imus is...I don't even know what to call him because he is NOT excusable. He's just a racist. Jacobsen needs seriously counseling, or to be re-trained to be a columnist, she made one mistake I realize, but if it was some small town reporter that said that he would be hated forever. But she works for ESPN, so I guess it's ok?
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