As Twitchy told you yesterday, ESPN dealt with anchor Jemele Hill’s comments about Donald Trump being a “white supremacist” with what many felt was just a slap on the wrist:
ESPN Statement on Jemele Hill: pic.twitter.com/3kfexjx9zQ
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 12, 2017
Those who believe ESPN didn’t go far enough certainly have reason to believe that, particularly in light of the offenses that have gotten others fired from the network. But are Hill’s comments really enough to warrant her getting fired? White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders seems to think so:
"I think that's one of the more outrageous comments" anyone can make, says @PressSec of @jemelehill tweet, calling it "fireable offense"
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) September 13, 2017
With all due respect to Ms. Huckabee Sanders, there have been way more outrageous comments made about Trump — and, indeed, about his predecessors. Trump himself is known for his own “outrageous” comments. Like this one, for example:
And of course we all remember when Obama called for Trump to be fired after he called Obama a racist. pic.twitter.com/SGbNuJP3MB
— Charles Repine (@DistrictDawg) September 13, 2017
And suggesting that Hill’s comments are a “fireable offense” doesn’t exactly scream “champion of free speech,” does it?
conservatives–if u think the Google guy deserved to keep his job on free speech grounds don't you have to defend her too? https://t.co/yKpHShXKKT
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) September 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/davidharsanyi/status/908049075861377028
Free speech is free speech. ESPN could certainly fire her if they choose to, but free speech advocates should probably steer clear of encouraging them to do so.
Oh look, government official wants to punish a person for political speech. Remember when everyone thought that wasn't very American? https://t.co/ItKJ9aoFJv
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) September 13, 2017
Ok, that's absurd. You can't complain about Mozilla firing Brendan Eich and then say ESPN should fire Jemele Hill. https://t.co/n4ZpSMpMW6
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 13, 2017
No, it's not a fireable offense, unless ESPN thinks it's one
Stop it. https://t.co/euX2z5HDoz
— Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) September 13, 2017
tfw you love free speech but also think it's cool for the government to get you fired for criticizing the president https://t.co/czjnjttUJr
— Christian Vanderbrouk (@UrbanAchievr) September 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/908045793369739264
You can disagree about the content of speech without trying to repress it. I mean, I think you can. That's the American ideal after all.
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) September 13, 2017
We thought so, too.
The Trump administration is so stupid.
By keeping silent, they were actually winning this fight. Now, however… https://t.co/1VEnyELKC3
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 13, 2017
Yep, they're going to make her a martyr…
— Fiddy-Two Trillion (@Pqlyur1) September 13, 2017
Now, it’s also worth pointing this out:
https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/908057783198773248
All that being said, maybe there is somebody who ought to be fired by ESPN:
If anyone should get fired at @ESPN it should be the decision makers that wanted less sports journalists and more loud talking heads.
— Aaron V (@PoliticsOfFear) September 13, 2017
Now that we’d understand!
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional text and tweets.
***
Update:
Were Huckabee Sanders’ remarks ill-advised? Yes. Are they also being misrepresented by some in the media? Yes:
Back up a sec: Just when did the White House ‘demand’ ESPN fire Jemele Hill?
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