Jemele Hill: What The Hell Were You Thinking?

ESPN Columnist and segment-host Jemele Hill has been suspended for an indefinite amount of time for her comments about cheering for the Boston Celtics. I quote:

“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.”

Not only was this comment pretty insensitive and thoughtless, it wasn't even funny. Not even a little bit. For a noteworthy columnist, it must be incredibly embarrassing to get called out for saying something insanely stupid especially when you are simultaneously outed to the world as not being funny. What a slap in the face -- total insult to injury.

Now, when I first heard this story, I thought it was incredibly inappropriate to suspend this woman. She was only doing her job, and although her comments may have been thoughtless, they certainly weren't filled with hate or any real venom; no harm, no foul.

I always think that our first amendment rights need to be protected at all times. If someone in the media says something hurtful or offensive, let the sponsors dictate whether they keep their jobs or not. At the end of the day, money is king, and the market will determine who survives.

I felt that way, 100%, until I heard what Jemele Hill had to say after Don Imus' moronic rant pertaining to "nappy headed hoes" and the Rutger's Women's Basketball Team. Hill called for his head and his job for his transgressions, and for that (and not her own comments) she should be suspended.

In fact, Hill should call for her own suspension -- anything short of that would be hypocritical. She should have known better.

Imus is an idiot and people like him are ignorant, but at the end of the day, he is what he is: a bigot and a second-rate shock-jock. Even morons should be able to voice their opinions though. If we don't like it, turn it off. And if it's really that offensive, sponsors will pull off, which in turn will cause the wrong-doer to lose their job the old-fashioned, American way.

Hypocrisy is almost as bad a censorship. We should accept neither.