By JUSTIN STEVENS
This past week ESPN suspended star anchor Jemele Hill for two weeks after she violated ESPN’s social media policy for the second time in a couple of weeks.
The second suspension stemmed from Hill commenting on the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones requiring all players to stand for the national anthem. Hill tweeted, “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.”
Hill was previously suspended when she called Trump a “white supremacist,” in a tweet. John Skipper, president of ESPN, sent out a company wide memo shortly after Hill’s first suspension saying that “ESPN is about sports” and that it is “not a political organization.”
The White House eventually stepped in on the issue as Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that this was “a fireable offense.”
While I’m all for taking a side and standing for what you believe in, certain people need to be wary of what’s shared. The news media, in its truest form, is supposed to be as unbiased as possible. Hill is clearly unbiased when she attacks Trump and Jerry Jones.
In many situations reporters or people in the industry are fired for spreading their beliefs on social media or in press events. There is no issue with having a belief, but when you work in the news media, you can’t share it.