Jemele Hill Says She Wishes She Would’ve Called Trump a White Supremacist on SportsCenter: ‘It’s Like You’re Watching Newsmax’ With Aaron Rodgers

After watching the Aaron Rodgers saga unfold, ex-ESPN reporter Jemele Hill wishes she took things even further during her time with the company.

The New York Jets quarterback on Tuesday discussed the backlash from his implication that Jimmy Kimmel was an associate of late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In lieu of an apology, Rodgers slammed the media for misinterpreting his words in an effort to “cancel” him.

Then, Rodgers used his time on The Pat McAfee Show to rant about the Covid-19 vaccine.

As all of this went on, Hill couldn’t help but think about her departure from ESPN. In 2017, Hill came under fire when she called former President Donald Trump a white supremacist on Twitter. Following months of backlash — and another controversial tweet about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — Hill left her role as SportsCenter anchor and became a writer for ESPN’s website The Undefeated. She joined The Atlantic in late 2018.

Hill kept the controversy off SportsCenter. It’s a decision she now regrets.

“Well, it makes me wish that I would’ve said it on SportsCenter instead of tweeting it,” Hill said on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, “because people seem to think that anyway. Because back then, the company guidelines were a lot different; and now, every week when you see Aaron Rodgers on Pat McAfee’s show, it’s like you’re watching Newsmax.

“The network is so funny because they spend a lot of time trying to remove themselves from being considered to be political because they were accused — mostly by right-wing conservatives — of being too liberal; and now, they’ve seemed to kind of embrace and run in a different direction.”

Watch above via CNN