Jemele Hill will leave ESPN at the beginning of September, according to reports.
Jim Miller, author and media reporter, first broke the news Saturday evening. “Coming 9/1, an amicable departure/buyout for Jemele Hill from ESPN,” Miller tweeted, indicating that both parties appear to have no ill will toward one another. “Been a long time coming.”
The Detroit-born journalist appears to have agreed to a buyout, and her final day at the network will be Friday, according to the New York Post. Miller also tweeted that the news of Hill departure comes after she requested a meeting with ESPN president James Pitaro.
Pitaro, who became president of the sports network in March, is trying to distance ESPN from politics as much as possible. "Our focus is on covering the news in an exemplary fashion. To be fair, balanced and making sure we have the facts right," the media executive told Sporting Newsin May.
The sports journalist caused a firestorm last after calling President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called her remarks a “fireable offense,” and even Trump hopped on Twitter to respond to Hill.
Hill was later suspended by ESPN after suggesting sports fans boycott the sponsors of the Dallas Cowboys when team owner Jerry Jones said he’d bench players who refused to stand for the national anthem. She left her role as co-anchor of "SportsCenter" and transitioned into another position within the network, The Undefeated.
Hill began her career with ESPN in 2006.
