Despite facing unwarranted consequences for using her platform to bring awareness to racially-charged criticisms taking aim at the fight against social injustices targeting African-Americans, Jemele Hill is continuing to stand up for what’s right. And she’s got a world of support behind her.
Following Monday’s announcement from ESPN, in which they confirmed that the beloved on-air sports journalist will face a 2-week suspension for “violating” the company’s social media policy, a host of notable public figures have began speaking out in support of Hill. CNN political commentator Angela Rye and civil rights activist Tamika Mallory were two of many who lent their voices of support by joining in on the #StandWithJemele movement on Monday night.
Each of the women shared posts on their personal Twitter accounts urging others who support Hill to call ESPN and let them know.
Others who have taken to social media to voice their support for Jemele Hill so far include J.Cole, April Reign, Marc Lamont Hill, Gabrielle Union, Common and Michael Eric Dyson.
The prominent sports network claims Hill’s suspension is a direct consequence of a responsive tweet she sent on Sunday afternoon during an exchange with an NFL fan about the recent comments of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in which he mandated that his players either stand for the national anthem during games or sit the bench. During the exchange, Hill correctly informed the fan that the “key” to showing disapproval of Jones’ comments is to direct the frustraion towards the advertisers who financially support the Dallas Cowboys, versus only taking aim at the players. Prior to Sunday’s comment, Hill came under fire for a tweet referring to Donald Trump as a “white supremacist,” after he hesitated to immediately condemn white supremacy and used “we” when referring to the openly racist Alt-right group following the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August.
Hill is the latest in a growing list of prominent public figures to spread awareness about the consistent lack of regard for African-American civil rights demonstrated by the Trump Administration and the NFL in the wake of the #TakeTheKnee protest.
