Jemele Hill suspended from ESPN
Jemele Hill has been suspended from ESPN, the network said in a statement Monday.
The company said the anchor was suspended for two weeks after a second violation of its social media guidelines.
Hill took to Twitter on Sunday and Monday to say the NFL had placed an "unfair burden" on players amid reports that team owners would pull players off the field if they kneeled during the national anthem.
In a series of tweets, Hill said fans upset with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones should boycott his team's advertisers.
"This play always work. Change happens when advertisers are impacted. If you feel strongly about [Jones'] statement, boycott his advertisers," she wrote Sunday evening. In another tweet, she said, "If you strongly reject what Jerry Jones said, the key is his advertisers. Don't place the burden squarely on the players."
After the Cowboys' loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jones told reporters that any player on his team who refused to stand during the national anthem wouldn't be allowed to play.
On Monday afternoon, Hill clarified her comments on Twitter. "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.
Hill said again that if fans are upset with Jones and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, they shouldn't call the players "sellouts" but realize that they are still tuning in to watch the NFL on Sunday.
Hill recently came under fire for her comments on Twitter. The network had distanced itself from her when she called President Trump a white supremacist.
In September, Hill tweeted: "Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists."
On Monday, ESPN said in a statement that Hill had "previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down" with the tweet about Mr. Trump.
"In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision," it said.
