Strike 2 and she’s benched.
The ESPN anchor who ignited a firestorm after tweeting that President Trump is a “white supremacist” was suspended for two weeks on Monday because she defied her bosses’ orders not to get political on Twitter.
The network sidelined “SportsCenter” anchor Jemele Hill “for a second violation of our social-media guidelines” after she promoted NFL-advertiser boycotts on Twitter, an ESPN spokesman confirmed Monday.
Hill got into hot water for wading into the debate over whether NFL players should protest racism in the nation’s police force by kneeling during pre-game renditions of the national anthem.
Reacting to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — who told his players he would bench them if they did not stand for the anthem — she tweeted: “This play always work. Change happens when advertisers are impacted. If you feel strongly about JJ’s statement, boycott his advertisers.”
She later tried to cover for herself by clarifying that she was calling for targeted boycotts and not spurning the league itself.
“Just so we’re clear: I’m not advocating a NFL boycott. But an unfair burden has been put on players in Dallas & Miami w/ anthem directives,” she tweeted on Monday.
Hill sparked major controversy in September when she went on a Twitter rant about Trump.
“Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists,” she fumed in one of a dozen tweets slamming the president.
ESPN issued a statement distancing itself from her and reprimanded the 41-year-old black woman, who co-hosts the network’s flagship “SportsCenter” at 6 p.m.
It appears that fellow anchor Michael Smith is boycotting the network’s decision. He sat out Monday night’s broadcast in what was reportedly a mutual decision between him and ESPN, The Wrap reported.
Additional reporting by Hannah Withiam