Cry Havoc
06-17-2008, 11:36 AM
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_06_17_ESPN_com_apologizes_for_C_s-Hitler_reference_/srvc=home&position=recent
An ESPN.com columnist is apologizing - through a statement released by the Web site - for likening cheering for the Boston Celtics [team stats] to Adolf Hitler and nuclear war.
In her original column railing against the Celtics, Jemele 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.”
Hill’s piece was posted on ESPN.com late Saturday, and a spokesman for the sports powerhouse said yesterday that the crude comparison was edited out within hours.
The newly edited version of the piece, “Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics,” is still online. Hill did not respond to an e-mail for comment yesterday. ESPN.com released a statement.
“The column, as originally posted, made some absolutely unacceptable comparisons,” the statement said. “We’ve spoken with Jemele, and she understands that she exercised poor judgment.”
“Both Jemele and ESPN.com apologize. Within hours of its posting on Saturday evening, the inappropriate references were removed from the site, and we are thoroughly reviewing the entire situation,” the statement said.
When asked how Hill’s remarks made it onto ESPN’s Web site, ESPN spokesman Paul Melvin said there was a “breakdown in the system of editorial checks and balances.”
“We’re normally quite proud of the editorial judgment exercised here, but this was clearly an exception to that,” Melvin said.
Hill has been writing for ESPN.com for about two years and also does some on-air work for them.
Hill writes for Page 2 - an edgier section of ESPN.com whose columnists include Bill Simmons, Scoop Jackson and cartoonist Kurt Snibbe.
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Wow. It's a rare day when a journalist takes the integrity of ESPN and actually lowers it, but Jemele is showing us that anything is possible.
She is a poor example of what a female journalist should be. ESPN needs to rid itself of this situation -- and her. This kind of hyperbole shows that she will never, ever be able to make an objective assessment about sports, which is essentially the core of being a good reporter.
An ESPN.com columnist is apologizing - through a statement released by the Web site - for likening cheering for the Boston Celtics [team stats] to Adolf Hitler and nuclear war.
In her original column railing against the Celtics, Jemele 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.”
Hill’s piece was posted on ESPN.com late Saturday, and a spokesman for the sports powerhouse said yesterday that the crude comparison was edited out within hours.
The newly edited version of the piece, “Deserving or not, I still hate the Celtics,” is still online. Hill did not respond to an e-mail for comment yesterday. ESPN.com released a statement.
“The column, as originally posted, made some absolutely unacceptable comparisons,” the statement said. “We’ve spoken with Jemele, and she understands that she exercised poor judgment.”
“Both Jemele and ESPN.com apologize. Within hours of its posting on Saturday evening, the inappropriate references were removed from the site, and we are thoroughly reviewing the entire situation,” the statement said.
When asked how Hill’s remarks made it onto ESPN’s Web site, ESPN spokesman Paul Melvin said there was a “breakdown in the system of editorial checks and balances.”
“We’re normally quite proud of the editorial judgment exercised here, but this was clearly an exception to that,” Melvin said.
Hill has been writing for ESPN.com for about two years and also does some on-air work for them.
Hill writes for Page 2 - an edgier section of ESPN.com whose columnists include Bill Simmons, Scoop Jackson and cartoonist Kurt Snibbe.
-----
Wow. It's a rare day when a journalist takes the integrity of ESPN and actually lowers it, but Jemele is showing us that anything is possible.
She is a poor example of what a female journalist should be. ESPN needs to rid itself of this situation -- and her. This kind of hyperbole shows that she will never, ever be able to make an objective assessment about sports, which is essentially the core of being a good reporter.