By SERIAH SARGENTON
Distribution Manager
To withhold one’s personal political views, general opinions, and statements is the objectivity that all journalists are expected to adhere to. Early Friday morning, President Donald J. Trump tweeted the public in regard to the tweet sent out by Jemele Hill, an ESPN SportsCenter host, on Sept. 11 calling the president a white supremacist.
“ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!” said Trump in his Friday tweet.
It comes as no surprise that Trump and his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, agree that ESPN has an obligation to fi re Hill on the grounds that her tweet was inappropriate and clearly a fireable offense. This is not the first time ESPN is being criticized for the way they handle their employees. Sanders mentioned on numerous occasions that anchorwoman, Linda Cohn was suspended for expressing her political views. According to Sanders, you cannot suspend one employee for political opinions and not fire Hill for hers.
Though ESPN has denied Sanders allegations of suspending Cohn, saying that she was asked to take a day off, they addressed the issue claiming to have spoken to Hill and she acknowledges her comments as inappropriate.
“My comments on Twitter expressed my personal beliefs. My regret is that my comments and the public way I made ESPN in an unfair light. My respect for the company and my colleagues remain unconditional,” Hills said in a late evening tweet Sept. 13.
Despite Trump and Sanders’ suggestion, ESPN stated that they would not be fi ring Hill because she has the right to express her own belief. For as long as she isn’t putting the company in a false lighting. Though Hill is able to keep her job, ESPN tried to keep Hill off the air Wednesday but changed their minds when her co-host refused to do the show without her, according to reports.
It’s important to note that had ESPN fired Hill for her controversial tweet, the conversation about where the line is drawn between objectivity in journalism and reporter’s right to free speech would have been sparked. People are questioning whether or not Hill should have simply remained objective given her duty to ESPN.
As a reporter, it’s expected that you represent your organization both in the public eye and when interacting with others on social media. As politics continue to be a growing topic, many expect sports to be kept out of the mix.
As a reporter though, Hill is entitled to basic freedom of speech rights without being fi red, despite the wishes of the president and his press secretary to do so.
ESPN may be recognized for broadcasting sports, but it’s impossible to tell a person that they’re not allowed to express their opinions simply because a person refuses to acknowledge the issues that are important to the nation.
It’s important that athletes and people in the sports industry, including reporters use their celebrity status to encourage their viewers to pay attention to what is happening in the nation.
