ESPN.com’s Jemele Hill Suspended For Comment: ‘Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim’

ESPN Columnist Jemele Hill was outraged by the image suggesting the publication depicted James as a savage and Bundchen as the damsel in distress. Her scathing article on ESPN.com caused a great bit of heat for Vogue. Well now it appearts that now Hill is in her own hot water. She has been suspended following a piece where she equated fan support for the Boston Celtics in their NBA Finals series to that of Hitler. In her column entitled “Deserving or not, I still hate 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.”

The two offensive statements were taken out of her online column hours after it was posted, but not before a torrent of negative feedback was unleashed by ESPN.com readers, as well as Celtics fans and other sports columnists.

Hills comments have agitated the public in a number of different ways from ESPN.com readers, Holocaust survivors, Celtic Fans, other columnist and sports talk radio hosts.

The major problem facing Hill, WHO I ABSOLUTELY LOVE as a knowledgeable sports writer is that we’re living the post Don Imus/ Rutgers hoops squad era. After the radio jock who was dismissed for referring to the Rutgers woman’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” many Imus supporters viewed his firing as a double standard and have been waiting for a BLACK journalist to slip up to illustrate their point. So although she’s only expected to be suspended, I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets made an example out of.

Hill has issued the following apology however:

“I deeply regret the comment I made in a column Saturday. In expressing my passion for the NBA and my hometown of Detroit I showed very poor judgment in the words that I used. I pride myself on an understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity - and there is no excuse for the appalling lack of sensitivity in my comments. It in no way reflects the person I am. I apologize to all of my readers and I thank them for holding me accountable. This has been an important lesson for me and illustrates that, like many people, I still have a lot of growing and learning to do.”

Clearly she effed up but my question is if editors are reading these columns shouldn’t they be held accountable for allowing the material to go to press? Its like its only controversial if the public says so. Although her comments were later edited online it wasn’t until after ESPN had received hundreds of emails from disseminated and outraged readers.

Comment by the Genius on June 19, 2008 at 10:12pm: Hard being Black, not just black, but an educated black person.

Comment by the Genius on June 19, 2008 at 10:14pm: I know this is a new site and I love it, if no one is making comments yet, its ok for anyone who controls this site to give feedback.

Comment by lilearlziana on June 19, 2008 at 10:38pm: I too feel that way about the stans of the C's. Back in the Bird days and anytime before then, Boston was a terrible place for black players to play and still to this day Boston is one the most racist cities in the US...

Comment by Mitch on June 20, 2008 at 11:22am: people need to shut the fuck up about imus. he made one comment. blacks survived hundreds of years of opression and they cant take one comment. but this stupid bitch will only get suspended because she's black, she wont get fired like imus did.

Comment by Eugene on June 20, 2008 at 1:06pm: Have you look at the celtic's. 12 man roster majority black, starting five black with black coach in Boston!!! If you can't appreciate that shit something is fucking wrong with how think as a people. Every championship celtic team before this one was either majority white or had a couple of "white hopes" playing for them, for ex. larry bird.. That team made history. and to cheer for them is be proud of what we are!! and that is black. To take one thing that they held so sacred " the boston celtic franchise" and make it our own. No Bird,cousy, mchale, cowens, or "Hondo" but GARNETT, PIERCE, ALLEN, POSEY, RONDO, BIG BABY, PERKINS, CASSEL, BROWN, etc and DOC RIVERS AS THE MUTHAFUCKING COACH. Get the picture. So celebrate this moment cause this is history, like obama winning the Democratic nomination. So if you proud to be black like I am, you would cheer for them niggas not because their in Racist ass Boston as some would call it but because because they won despite being in Racist ass Boston.. ( I would cheer regardless cuz that's my muthafucking Hometown !! Go Celtics)

Comment by Killin them on June 20, 2008 at 1:31pm: WOW got to slow the roll wit calling boston a racist ass town ....im from the bean....dont get it twisted boston was a very racist town in the past!!!....there is still underlying racism everywhere u go......

Comment by Cass on June 20, 2008 at 3:33pm: People are so prejudice!!!! Stop judging each other and learn one another!!!!! I hated the Celtics when they were playing Detroit (my hometown). But once they beat us, I became a Celtics fan and enjoyed their GAME! Yes, they have lots of GAME, the whole starting line up is FIRE; and then they have a back-up line-up that’s FIRE!!! They not only deserved to win but they played win!!!!!

Comment by lilearlziana on June 20, 2008 at 4:53pm: Eugene I already had that feelin about being proud at what the '08 C's did with the roster they had. The biggest deal was Doc River outcoaching Phil or was it the three headed monster vs Kobe? No love lost for Boston, isn't that where Benzino is from but anyways, I guess I watch too much of the history channel. And oh yeah who knows what is the most racist of the us cities,New Orleans(South Louisiana) is a historically racist ass place too so, all I can say is beware of your surroundings wherever you are, Here in the states or Europe...

Comment by Eugene on June 20, 2008 at 6:16pm: I don't have it twisted, as you seen in my writing I put "as some would call it". I am from roxbury, I know about malcolm x park(washington park) I have lived in dorchester(blue hill ave.) I got fam in mattapan. My grandmother lived in bromley/heath projects. My aunt lived in Warren Gardens.. I went to college at RCC and made the basketball team(quit but i made it) Boston's in my blood..it is in my DNA.. I would never get it twisted. If people feel that away about boston which is practically the way the whole country feels about Georgia and its southern counterparts, they need to visit. I sputtered bullshit and heard other people(adults at the time) talk bad about GA and the south but when the world didn't want me "She "took me an raised me to be a man. Racism is everywhere but My point was regardless where you are from, I don't give a damn if you from Siberia if you are a black man or woman and you watch that game, you watched history. I love my city, moving back soon... I love my state(georgia) always hate to leave. But I know the history of both.. So let me reiterate, if u read my passage I specifically and i quote said "as some would call it" !!!! I watch the history channel too, cuZ.. Racism ain't went nowhere they just know how to hide it better, and that is true regardless where your at.