On Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Jemele Hill issued a response to some recent comments that Kid Rock made on Facebook about how he "loves black people" with a tweet that said, "He loves black people so much that he pandered to racists by using a flag that unquestionably stands for dehumanizing black people."
That led to a long back-and-forth between Hill and a handful of Twitter users. And during that discussion, Hill shared her opinions on Donald Trump. She referred to him as "a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists." She also called him "the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime" and "a bigot."
And obviously, some of the things Hill said didn’t sit well with some people out there. Hill, who has spoken openly about how much hate she receives on a regular basis on social media, was targeted by those who said she should be fired because of the comments she made about Trump.
ESPN responded to the backlash they received on Tuesday by issuing an apology on behalf of Hill. In a statement, ESPN said Hill’s anti-Trump comments "do not represent the position of ESPN." The network also said Hill "recognizes her actions were inappropriate."
ESPN didn’t comment any further than that, and it’s unclear whether or not Hill has been disciplined in any way over her Trump comments. But for what it’s worth, Hill has not spoken publicly about the comments, and she has also refused to take them down. As of Wednesday morning, they are still up on her Twitter page.
While Hill has stayed silent even as her critics have celebrated the fact that ESPN issued an apology, she has received plenty of support for saying what she said. Most notably, Colin Kaepernick chimed in on the situation on Tuesday night and said that he supports Hill.
Former NBA star and current TNT analyst Reggie Miller showed his support for Hill as well.
Dwyane Wade did, too.
And Hill’s SC6 co-host Michael Smith has spent much of Wednesday morning responding to those who have been critical of him and Hill over the last 24 hours.
Hill hosted SC6 as usual on Tuesday night but did not directly address any of the controversy surrounding her.
