Jemele Hill's Next Chapter: What Should She Do Following Suspension?

At 6 p.m. this evening, SportsCenter viewers will be seeing a familiar face—at least we think so. That’s when ESPN’s Jemele Hill, who has been at the center of two separate Twitter controversies, is supposed to be resurfacing from her two-week suspension, following comments about Dallas Cowboys’ head coach Jerry Jones and his stance on the sideline protests.

Since then, just about the entire sports media world has weighed in what they think Hill should do following the suspension. Following her comments about President Trump—in which she called him a “bigot” and “white supremacist”—Variety scolded ESPN for not allowing Hill to continue the political dialogue. More recently, Sports Illustrated thought Hill wasn’t long for ESPN—on her own terms.

Now, The Ringer jumps into the mix, with its own take. According to its sources, Hill met Sunday with ESPN president John Skipper (the last time the two met, Hill was in tears). Sources also say that Hill isn’t close to leaving just yet. “This is the beginning of what could be a long period of talking and thinking,” notes The Ringer.

What the publication does note is that Trump’s attacks on Hill aren’t anything particularly new; her and co-anchor Michael Smith have been receiving flack—some racist and/or highly inflammatory—since their show, The Six, premiered on ESPN in February. Also, The Ringer argues that The Six is suffering from an identity crisis—is it a news or debate show?—and that might be reason alone for her to part ways. And then there’s the question of how political ESPN actually wants the show to be, something that has become increasingly difficult to avoid, now that the president has inserted himself into the debate.