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Traina Thoughts: ESPN Appeased No One With Its Statement On Jemele Hill

ESPN didn't make anyone happy with how they handled the Jemele Hill situation.

Jimmy Traina

Traina Thoughts: ESPN Appeased No One With Its Statement On Jemele Hill
Traina Thoughts: ESPN Appeased No One With Its Statement On Jemele Hill /

The best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts. And check Jimmy Traina's weekly podcast, "Off The Board," on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher.

1. Did ESPN botch this Jemele Hill controversy or what? In case you missed it yesterday, ESPN PR released a statement saying Hill's comments on Twitter the previous day, in which she said Donald Trump was a white supremacist, do not represent the position of the company. All that statement did was throw gasoline on the proverbial fire. ESPN should've either fired Hill (which I am not endorsing in any way) or not said a word. Let me explain.

If you are a fan of Hill's or if you believe that Donald Trump is a white supremacist, ESPN's statement will make you angry because the perception is that Hill is getting thrown under the bus to make the anti-ESPN crowd happy.

If you don't like Hill and have an irrational hatred of ESPN, the network's statement is just going to make you angrier because you want Hill suspended or fired. A press release is pretty meaningless. Of course, Hill still may be suspended and we just don't know it yet. She has not tweeted since 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday. I reached out to ESPN and they said they have no new statement at the moment besides the one they released on Tuesday.

So the result of ESPN's statement is that nobody is satisfied and instead of just having half the people pissed at them, everyone is pissed at them and it's just one big clusteryouknowwhat. The people who hate Hill and ESPN have just doubled down, while Hill is getting support from all sorts of people.

Lastly, on a side note for people who are adamant that Hill should be fired for what she tweeted, just remember one thing: Ryen Russillo was arrested a few weeks ago. Let me repeat that. ARRESTED. A. REST. TED. He did not get fired -- and rightfully so. So if you're one of the people outraged that Hill hasn't been fired, just keep in mind that she didn't even commit a crime. 

2. This stat on the Indians may be more impressive than the 20 wins in a row.

3. Terry Francona is so great. The Indians skipper revealed that, just like the rest of us, he has that one friend who is a total jinx. So, Francona is not speaking to him during Cleveland's historic winning streak.

At least Francona didn't stuff his friend in a bathroom or put a towel over his head.

4. It looks like Sergio Dipp is handling being an Internet star for 24 hours just fine. After his super serious explanation for his rough sideline report, Dipp seemed to lighten up and have fun with the whole thing.

5. John Cena's famous catchphrase is "You Can't See Me." So, when Apple announced yesterday that the new iPhoneX will have face recognition, the WWE superstar sent out the perfect tweet.

6. Bravo to Major League Baseball for making Opening Day next season special again, with all 15 games in action on Thursday, March 29.

7. This was a heck of a tweet by 49ers linebacker, Ben Boulware.

8. RANDOM WRESTLING VIDEO OF THE DAY: Vince McMahon made a rare TV appearance last night on SmackDown Live and got destroyed by Kevin Owens. It looked like Mr. McMahon even got cut "the hardway" as they say in the wrestling business.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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