Formerly of ESPN notoriety and now a writer of sports and politics at The Atlantic, Jemele Hill served up her latest race-baiting outrage Wednesday in an interview with Complex Sports Senior Editor Adam Caparell. The former co-host of ESPN SportsCenter who once tweeted that President Donald Trump and his supporters are "white racists" now says that white America is disqualifying the humanity of African-American athletes.
Wednesday's interview of Hill provided a sneak preview of Showtime's upcoming three-part docu-series Shut Up and Dribble. Beginning Saturday, the program is produced by LeBron James and narrated by Hill. The title was inspired by Fox News' Laura Ingraham last winter for saying James -- who had mocked President Donald Trump -- should just shut up and dribble. To Caparell, Ingraham was the only "incendiary" person involved in that controversy, not James.
Caparell wrote of Hill, "Considering how outspoken she’s become during the Trump presidency, and how it got her in trouble with her former employer, there arguably isn’t a more appropriate person to voice a documentary tackling the intersection of basketball, race, and the American political power structure than Hill." Spread over three nights, the series "will highlight how NBA players, more specifically its black players, have fought to have their voices heard and political stances respected over the past 50 years."
Following are some of the interview's lowlights:
Hill on the marginalization of black athletes: "I think people feel like sometimes because black athletes are making more money than they ever have and are amassing power and wealth and influence in ways they hadn't before in history, I think one of the consistent things during this documentary, regardless of money or position, or power, there will always be somebody there to remind black athletes that their humanity is disqualified. ... there is a power structure that is very invested in keeping you silent. ... there was this theme that black athletes did not have the right to want more—whether that was more money, more power, or more respect."
Hill on the alleged blacklisting of black athletes: “Right now, the NBA is kind of known and characterized as a more progressive, inclusive, and encouraging league when it comes to player activism (note: kind of? A poll rated the NBA as the second-most Democratic sports association in the nation, trailing only the WNBA). But this is also the same league where Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges were blackballed. As much as people like to think Colin Kaepernick has the trademark on being blackballed, it’s happened in the NBA a few times already. Those are important lessons for people to remember and to use as context as we talk about what we’re seeing today.”
Hodges was a social justice warrior in the early 1990s who hand-delivered a letter of complaints to President George H.W. Bush during a reception for the NBA champion Chicago Bulls. He later hit the NBA with a $40 million lawsuit for blacklisting him from the league, but lost. Abdul-Rauf protested America's so-called "tyranny and oppression" during national anthem presentations.
Hill on the docu-series in light of the upcoming U.S. elections: "It’s a good reminder, with all the violence that’s gone on in this country, we need to understand with midterm elections right around the corner is that the fight for the soul of this country is ongoing. And so we need to decide in very critical moments who we are. When good people stay silent, bad things happens. This documentary is a perfect placement and backdrop to everything we’re seeing today."
But enough with the violence committed by Democrats, residents of Detroit and Chicago and illegal aliens.
Caparell concluded that the James series' "chronicling of the social and cultural evolution of the NBA player is the perfect example of why sports and politics shouldn’t be mutually exclusive." More truthfully stated, Caparell would have tried to justify the combination of sports and left-wing politics.
