ESPN Public Editor: Hill Made A Mistake

Jemele Hill

ESPN's public editor wrote Jemele Hill had made a "mistake" with her tweets calling President Donald Trump a "white supremacist", saying Friday she had violated network guidelines about making public political pronouncements, according to freebeacon.com.

"Let’s dispense with the suspense: I think Hill made an error in judgment in those tweets," public editor Jim Brady wrote. "And, no, it's not specifically because of what she said; she is, of course, entitled to her opinions, and Hill’s opinion of President Trump is a mystery to precisely no one who has ever read her Twitter feed."

Calling Trump a white supremacist was an opinion, not a fact, Brady wrote, and "she erred by ignoring company guidelines."

ESPN released rules this year about political discussions, writing "the topic should be related to a current issue impacting sports. This condition may vary for content appearing on platforms with broader editorial missions — such as The Undefeated, FiveThirtyEight and espnW. Other exceptions must be approved in advance by senior editorial managements."

"But here’s the thing: In newsrooms, guidelines exist to serve as a backstop for common sense," Brady wrote. "These were not tweets that served her or her employer well. And that’s why — as someone responsible for judging decisions like this through a purely journalistic lens — I think she made a mistake."

Hill did not retract her comments, but she did ultimately issue a statement regretting putting ESPN in an "unfair light," and ESPN released another statement that Hill had apologized for appearing to speak on behalf of the network.