Jemele Hill

Jemele Hill
Born (1975-12-21) December 21, 1975
Detroit, Michigan
Education

Mumford High School

Michigan State University
Occupation sports journalist

Jemele Juanita Hill (born December 21, 1975) is an American sports journalist previously writing a column for ESPN.com's Page 2 and formerly hosting ESPN's First Take. In June 2013, she succeeded Jalen Rose on ESPN2's Numbers Never Lie.

Career

Hill began her career as general assignment sports writer for the Raleigh News & Observer. From 1999 to 2005, she served as a sports writer with the Detroit Free Press, mainly covering Michigan State football and basketball. While at the Free Press, she also covered the 2004 Summer Olympics and the NBA Playoffs.[1] Hill worked as a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 2005 to 2006.

ESPN

Hill joined ESPN in November 2006 as a national columnist on ESPN.com. Hill also makes regular appearances on television, including SportsCenter and several ESPN programs, including ESPN First Take, Outside the Lines and The Sports Reporters. During the 2012 college football season, Hill could be seen on Friday nights as a sideline reporter with Carter Blackburn and Rod Gilmore. She is now co-host of the show His and Hers with Michael Smith.

Accomplishments

In 1998, Hill won first place in sports feature writing at the North Carolina Press Association. In 2007, Hill won the inaugural McKenzie Cup, which is given in tribute to sports editor Van McKenzie, at the annual Poynter Media Summit.[2] She received an honorable mention in the 2007 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. In 2014, she served as the grand marshal for the Michigan State University homecoming parade.

Controversy

During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Hill was suspended from her post after referencing Adolf Hitler in an article about the then-NBA champion Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. In an editorial describing why she could not support the Celtics, Hill wrote: "Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan. Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics." The comments immediately generated a negative response from readers and that portion of the editorial was taken out shortly after the column was published. Hill was subsequently suspended for one week and she issued an apology through ESPN.[3]

Later in 2009, Hill once again was reprimanded for her comments after comparing University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coach John Calipari to Charles Manson.[4] She later apologized to the university.[5]

In 2009, she also accused baseball player Sammy Sosa of being a racist for using skin creme that made his complexion lighter in an effort to hide his vitiligo.[6]

Hill has also been criticized for taking unpopular or extreme stances, leading many to accuse her of inflating her ESPN.com page hits by creating controversy.[7]

Personal life

A native of Detroit, Hill attended Mumford High School and graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish.

References

  1. ↑ Jemele Hill on Being Black, Female, Young - and On the Sports Page
  2. ↑ Jemele Hill Wins McKenzie Cup
  3. ↑ ESPN's Hill Suspended Over Hitler Remark
  4. ↑ "Jemele Hill’s TV Future at ESPN in Doubt After Charles Manson Comment About John Calipari". The Big Lead. December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  5. ↑ ESPN Personality Forced to Apologize to UK
  6. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/091113&sportCat=mlb
  7. ↑ The Mailbag: Cam Newton and 'Rocky'

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.