Jemele Hill's apology

[nickagneta]

After reading a brief word she wrote on her blog regarding her suspension, I can't help but feel that Jemele Hill hasn't learned a thing other than she is a lot better at writing hollow apologies than she ever thought she was.

http://jemelehill.com/#/blog/175/

In the link here is a brief paragragh she wrote before she wrote her apology and after her suspension. I think it tells us all a lot more about what Jemele Hill is all about:

"But just a couple of things I'd like to point out before moving on to that Game 6 atrocity(for the Lakers: 1. It's H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E. If you're going to call me that, just wanted to make sure you have the correct spelling. 2. If you're going to call me a racist and you want your point to stick, it kinda levels the argument when you follow it up by calling me the n-word. Just a little bit."

So before issuing her apology she tries to imply that people calling her a hypocrite are stupid because apparently in her mind, none of them know how to spell the word "hypocrite".

And then she goes on to imply that the people who are calling her a racist should just come forward and call her a racial epithet proving that they are the ones that are indeed racist.

That paragragh just does not tell me that anything she wrote in the apology was something she genuinely felt.

And yet, ESPN is still cutting her paychecks. Mind boggling.

I'm not supporting her, but I think you've misinterpreted what she's said.  She's simply calling the people that are misspelling "hypocrite" in their e-mails to her dumb.  That's fair enough.

Then, she mentions that some e-mails calling her a racist are also calling her the n-word, thereby hurting their own cause.  She's not implying that people should call her n-word...she's stating that if you're going to call her racist, calling her N****** negates that argument, and makes the writer a hypocrite as well.

I guess that reflects on the quality of her writing because she obviously didn't convey that point across clearly enough for me to understand it. I know before making this statement she mentioned in passing that she received e-mails from people who supported her, but she was extremely vague as to who she was addressing the referenced paragragh to. I interpretted it as being a shot back at anyone who did not support her.

Again if she was a better author perhaps this point would have been more clear.

[Eja117]

I'm beginning to think between the IMUS thing and this thing that what's actually happening is major media outlets are trying to homogenize writers by over censoring and thereby making writers and commentators as dull as possible. That way they won't have to pay for talent and we can have as boring and as untalented writers and sports opinions as possible, which would make things much better.

If a person reads a Jemele Hill column or listens to IMUS and gets offended when they laughed the day before when he offended someone else, it's the height of hypocrisy.

More appropriate than an apology would have been...

"I regret nothing. Get over yourselves."

[ChampKind]

After reading a brief word she wrote on her blog regarding her suspension, I can't help but feel that Jemele Hill hasn't learned a thing other than she is a lot better at writing hollow apologies than she ever thought she was.

http://jemelehill.com/#/blog/175/

In the link here is a brief paragragh she wrote before she wrote her apology and after her suspension. I think it tells us all a lot more about what Jemele Hill is all about:

"But just a couple of things I'd like to point out before moving on to that Game 6 atrocity(for the Lakers: 1. It's H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E. If you're going to call me that, just wanted to make sure you have the correct spelling. 2. If you're going to call me a racist and you want your point to stick, it kinda levels the argument when you follow it up by calling me the n-word. Just a little bit."

So before issuing her apology she tries to imply that people calling her a hypocrite are stupid because apparently in her mind, none of them know how to spell the word "hypocrite".

And then she goes on to imply that the people who are calling her a racist should just come forward and call her a racial epithet proving that they are the ones that are indeed racist.

That paragragh just does not tell me that anything she wrote in the apology was something she genuinely felt.

And yet, ESPN is still cutting her paychecks. Mind boggling.

I'm not supporting her, but I think you've misinterpreted what she's said.  She's simply calling the people that are misspelling "hypocrite" in their e-mails to her dumb.  That's fair enough.

Then, she mentions that some e-mails calling her a racist are also calling her the n-word, thereby hurting their own cause.  She's not implying that people should call her n-word...she's stating that if you're going to call her racist, calling her N****** negates that argument, and makes the writer a hypocrite as well.

I guess that reflects on the quality of her writing because she obviously didn't convey that point across clearly enough for me to understand it. I know before making this statement she mentioned in passing that she received e-mails from people who supported her, but she was extremely vague as to who she was addressing the referenced paragragh to. I interpretted it as being a shot back at anyone who did not support her.

Again if she was a better author perhaps this point would have been more clear.

I agree.  She's an average writer who is only notable for using race and Salem Witch Trial practices to sell her points.  However, I can understand her frustration with people that are rushing to burn her without even hitting spell check first.  If we're going to skewer her, we need a valid reason and the ability to articulate our points or else we fall into the place category she's in.

[soap07]

If a person reads a Jemele Hill column or listens to IMUS and gets offended when they laughed the day before when he offended someone else, it's the height of hypocrisy.


Who's doing that?

[Bahku]

Unfortunately, she's set a standard in the past, and many of us no longer even read anything she writes, or take her with any sense of seriousness. She's a pot-stirrer of the worst kind, who uses race and bias to serve her own needs and generate controversy. She's not a good enough writer to stand on the laurels of her talent alone, and so has found a personal gold-mine in her brazenness to "stir the pot" ... and I for one put no weight in anything she has to say any more.

[TripleOT]

Dear Readers,

The politically correct "Word Nazis" that like to use Gestapo tactics to censor the work of the insightful are at work again.  It surely is a pogrom to silence my greatness. 

The night my editor suspended me, he closed my notebook computer so hard the screen broke. I call that night Kristallnacht.  My long suspension was like a harrowing train ride in a car cramped with hundreds of others, with no food or drink, and a destination that could only be called a concentration camp. 

My critics won't be happy until ESPN.com is Jemelerein, which means free of Jemele in German, but my voice can never be exterminated. When I'm liberated from this horrible prison of suspension, I will be a wiser (and  thinner) columnist. I just hope I won't be stuck writing in a frigid Russian website for years.

By the way, I'm sorry to mention Hitler in my column. Writing about the Jewish Holocaust in a flippant and insensitive way, when I spend half my time writing about others who slight African Americans and women, I should know better.   

Sincerely,
Jemele Hill   

[Bahku]

Dear Readers,

The politically correct "Word Nazis" that like to use Gestapo tactics to censor the work of the insightful are at work again.  It surely is a pogrom to silence my greatness. 

The night my editor suspended me, he closed my notebook computer so hard the screen broke. I call that night Kristallnacht.  My long suspension was like a harrowing train ride in a car cramped with hundreds of others, with no food or drink, and a destination that could only be called a concentration camp. 

My critics won't be happy until ESPN.com is Jemelerein, which means free of Jemele in German, but my voice can never be exterminated. When I'm liberated from this horrible prison of suspension, I will be a wiser (and  thinner) columnist. I just hope I won't be stuck writing in a frigid Russian website for years.

By the way, I'm sorry to mention Hitler in my column. Writing about the Jewish Holocaust in a flippant and insensitive way, when I spend half my time writing about others who slight African Americans and women, I should know better.   

Sincerely,
Jemele Hill   

Wow ... talk about the "pot calling the kettle ..." - this is a perfect example of how she twists hypocricy to excuse her own. At one moment she's touting "Gestapo" tactics, all the while using them herself to justify her bias! Sorry ... I just can't take anything this woman writes as substantive or worthwhile. Es ist alles hundsheiB.

[sosuede]

Dear Readers,

The politically correct "Word Nazis" that like to use Gestapo tactics to censor the work of the insightful are at work again.  It surely is a pogrom to silence my greatness. 

The night my editor suspended me, he closed my notebook computer so hard the screen broke. I call that night Kristallnacht.  My long suspension was like a harrowing train ride in a car cramped with hundreds of others, with no food or drink, and a destination that could only be called a concentration camp. 

My critics won't be happy until ESPN.com is Jemelerein, which means free of Jemele in German, but my voice can never be exterminated. When I'm liberated from this horrible prison of suspension, I will be a wiser (and  thinner) columnist. I just hope I won't be stuck writing in a frigid Russian website for years.

By the way, I'm sorry to mention Hitler in my column. Writing about the Jewish Holocaust in a flippant and insensitive way, when I spend half my time writing about others who slight African Americans and women, I should know better.   

Sincerely,
Jemele Hill   

A great piece of satire, this; well written and painful to read on a few levels.

[Roy Hobbs]

Dear Readers,

The politically correct "Word Nazis" that like to use Gestapo tactics to censor the work of the insightful are at work again.  It surely is a pogrom to silence my greatness. 

The night my editor suspended me, he closed my notebook computer so hard the screen broke. I call that night Kristallnacht.  My long suspension was like a harrowing train ride in a car cramped with hundreds of others, with no food or drink, and a destination that could only be called a concentration camp. 

My critics won't be happy until ESPN.com is Jemelerein, which means free of Jemele in German, but my voice can never be exterminated. When I'm liberated from this horrible prison of suspension, I will be a wiser (and  thinner) columnist. I just hope I won't be stuck writing in a frigid Russian website for years.

By the way, I'm sorry to mention Hitler in my column. Writing about the Jewish Holocaust in a flippant and insensitive way, when I spend half my time writing about others who slight African Americans and women, I should know better.   

Sincerely,
Jemele Hill   

Wow ... talk about the "pot calling the kettle ..." - this is a perfect example of how she twists hypocricy to excuse her own. At one moment she's touting "Gestapo" tactics, all the while using them herself to justify her bias! Sorry ... I just can't take anything this woman writes as substantive or worthwhile. Es ist alles hundsheiB.

Jemele didn't actually write the above; that was TripleOT's parody of what she actually wrote.

[timpiker]

After reading the column that got her suspended I wrote her an email explaining that she was NOT a racist....  then she went on to explain to me she grew up hating the C's because they had so many white players and because the city of Boston had a reputation of racism back in the '60's.

She wrote this to me before she was suspended by maybe a day or 2.

After reading her email it became clear to me she has no idea what she is saying and she is somewhat dimwitted.   How anyone can state they are not racist then explain how they hate whites...and not understand that in and of itself is the definition of racism is beyond me. 

Maybe some people think only whites can be racists. 

[crownsy]

i think my favorite part of the whole thing is how she says shes not going to rationalize, because that would be wrong and insult the reader.

then she spends an entire column rationalizing how what she did doesn't deserve the same punishment she calls for on others lol.

[Roy Hobbs]

What really irritates me is her supporting the firing of Steve Lyons.  He didn't deserve any discipline at all -- he made a joke, and it wasn't intended in any sort of racial way -- and yet Hill was all over him about how people need to choose their words carefully.  And yet here she is, talking about "sure, the Holocaust is bad, but Hitler?  Hitler I thought was okay" (close enough).

[Casperian]

I wish this topic would die or go away, since it gives me a headache.

So, not to put oil in the fire, but that was a lousy apology, imo.
I donīt like that one of her dumb statements hides another dumb statement made by her in the same article: That the Celtics would be a racist franchise. Instead, she says the Celtics fans would "know how to get the most out of their e-mails". Imo, just another cheap shot at the Celtics.

"Jemele, I donīt care if you keep your job or not, but stop calling things or people "racist" if theyīre not. Itīs counterproductive, it letīs you lose credibility, and most importantly, you let people or things appear in a negative way although they donīt deserve it.
You even acknowledged Adandeīs article about the accomplishments of the Boston Celtics, so why play the race card at all in such a subtle way? Everyone could see your true intentions in the original, unedited article with statements like "this isnīt about race, itīs about rivalry" followed by a long passage only about race.

If someone really cares about this topic, he wouldnīt use the word "racism" as lightly as you do, since that will make it lose all itīs punch...and the word racism needs it`s punch, itīs too serious."

"But just a couple of things I'd like to point out before moving on to that Game 6 atrocity(for the Lakers: 1. It's H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E. If you're going to call me that, just wanted to make sure you have the correct spelling. 2. If you're going to call me a racist and you want your point to stick, it kinda levels the argument when you follow it up by calling me the n-word. Just a little bit."

And then she goes on to imply that the people who are calling her a racist should just come forward and call her a racial epithet proving that they are the ones that are indeed racist.

That paragragh just does not tell me that anything she wrote in the apology was something she genuinely felt.

And yet, ESPN is still cutting her paychecks. Mind boggling.

Uh, I think she was saying that a lot of people who were writing to call her racist were also using that word. By "levels the argument" she means it ruins the argument - if you call her that, and call her racist, you're not exactly making a good point. If that was happening over and again, I could see her frustration. The hypocrite comment was just plain snobby.

TP for nickagneta

@paintitgreen
Thatīs the point. Why mention that in an apology about your own faults? Itīs to question the criticism she received and downplay the level of ignorance she showed, imo. You already suspected that it might have happened over and over again...

Dear Readers,

The politically correct "Word Nazis" that like to use Gestapo tactics to censor the work of the insightful are at work again.  It surely is a pogrom to silence my greatness. 

The night my editor suspended me, he closed my notebook computer so hard the screen broke. I call that night Kristallnacht.  My long suspension was like a harrowing train ride in a car cramped with hundreds of others, with no food or drink, and a destination that could only be called a concentration camp. 

My critics won't be happy until ESPN.com is Jemelerein, which means free of Jemele in German, but my voice can never be exterminated. When I'm liberated from this horrible prison of suspension, I will be a wiser (and  thinner) columnist. I just hope I won't be stuck writing in a frigid Russian website for years.

By the way, I'm sorry to mention Hitler in my column. Writing about the Jewish Holocaust in a flippant and insensitive way, when I spend half my time writing about others who slight African Americans and women, I should know better.   

Sincerely,
Jemele Hill   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_El-Masri

Things like that happened several times aince 2001 everywhere on the planet, big story in the european media.

And to everyone who wants to make this a conflict of "Freedom Of Speech" against "Dignity":

Just because you have the right to say what you want doesnīt mean you have to make use of it.

[Rondo2287]

Does anybody think that Dennis and Callahan going on and on and Jamele and now Imus is a bit inappropriate considering their history of racist remarks?

[crownsy]

I find that show, which me and some buddies have termed "right wing sports hate radio" awful in general. It's filled with hypocracy, and thinly vieled shots at groups of people.

but if anyone calls in and gets through to call them on the fact that callahan, in particular, always takes shots at "hoods and thugs" which he clearly means on a racial basis, they claim the caller is the bigiot for connecting them to race.

Thier awful, i listen to lew and mike. while mike can get annoying, at least its not polotics with sports mixed in.