ESPN’s Jemele Hill is expected to return to host “SportsCenter” next week when her suspension is complete.
But, some within the sports media industry don’t plan on Hill being employed by the network much longer.
“I believe her tenure as a SportsCenter anchor is effectively over. I also think her time as an ESPN employee is down to months rather than years,” predicts Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.
This, of course, is the aftermath of a series of tweets sent out last month by Jemele Hill, calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist.
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
He has surrounded himself with white supremacists — no they are not “alt right” — and you want me to believe he isn’t a white supremacist?
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
Naturally, President Trump responded.
With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have “tanked,” in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
But, as Deitsch explained in his SI piece, it wasn’t President Trump’s response that led him to predict Hill’s demise with ESPN. Instead, it was a Sept. 15 statement released by ESPN president John Skipper that may have sealed her fate with the company.
Skipper wrote, in part:
…we have social media policies which require people to understand that social platforms are public and their comments on them will reflect on ESPN. At a minimum, comments should not be inflammatory or personal. We had a violation of those standards in recent days and our handling of this is a private matter. As always, in each circumstance we look to do what is best for our business.”
Deitsch believes ESPN’s president showed his hand when he mentioned “business” within the company statement.
So, what future programming changes will ESPN make to its flagship show?
Deitch says, “If I had to bet, I would bet that at this time next year the 6 p.m. ET slot is either a standard version of SportsCenter or some sort of PTI-extension. I would also bet that Hill is elsewhere.”
Even if ESPN does decide to fire Jemele Hill, it would be naive to think that ratings would jump significantly with new talent. The network has many hurdles to overcome. Increased competition, cord cutting and alienated viewers are all factoring into ESPN’s plummeting ratings.