ESPN has a lot of people saying "something is up" after it suspended SportsCenterhost Jemele Hill for two weeks. Specifically, they're calling out the network for kowtowing to the NFL. The suspension came after Hill sent out a series of tweets beginning on Sunday night responding to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' statement that he would bench any player that knelt during the national anthem. SEE ALSO: ESPN is now the frontline of the American political-culture warHill told fans upset by Jones' position that only withholding your own money from Cowboys' advertisers can affect change. Even though she clarified Monday morning that she wasn't calling for a boycott, she still got suspended. ESPN said in a statement that the punishment was due to a "second violation of our social media guidelines," referring to that time the host called President Donald Trump a "white supremacist" on Twitter. But her fans -- and haters -- were quick to see through ESPN's statements on the matter and call the sports broadcasting giant out on its undying allegiance to powerful (and wealthy) professional sports leagues. The move reminded many of Bill Simmons, the former ESPN sportscaster and wonder boy who in 2014 was suspended after calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a liar. Simmons was fired by ESPN a year later and moved on to HBO.
Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Even Trump supporters, who want her fired (echoing the White House) were calling BS. Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted ESPN's brown-nosing aside, many were quick to call out the double standard Hill faces.
So what to do about ESPN's shady motives? Some took Hill's comment that "change happens when advertisers are impacted" to heart.
Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Featured Video For You President Obama's take on the Colin Kaepernick anthem controversy |
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