ESPN Takes the First Step And Admits That There Actually Was a Jemele Hill 'Mistake'

If blogs did not exist, I guarantee you 99% fewer folks would have read Jemele Hill's Saturday ESPN column, which argued that cheering "for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan."

Hill's statement -- which ESPN quickly edited out of the article -- can best be classified as incoherent and stupid. Incoherent, because both analogies display a poor understanding of history (anyone who cares know that it doesn't matter who pushes the nuclear button first). Stupid, because jokes about Nazis or nuclear holocausts are usually ill-advised. If you're going to attempt either, it's best to bring your A-game. If you don't have an A-game, just keep your mouth shut.

(B-game writers like Hill can console themselves with the knowledge that society is much more tolerant of folks who make bad jokes about their own heritage. The 'Hitler Rug' above comes from a Jewish Museum. I don't slap my knees when I see it, but I would imagine that members of the Jewish faith have a different take on it than I do.)

ESPN and Hill apologized for the mistake today. That's nice, but I think the time has come to move Hill out of the "thoughtful" category reserved for capable columnists and slot her in the "desperate" category reserved for writers trying to shock people into noticing them.

I say this because Hill seems to enjoy the attention that follows making outrageous statements. That's the only way conceivable that she could have argued that Pistons-Spurs would be a better matchup for the NBA.

Bad columnists fall prey to homerism all the time, and Hill is no exception. But it doesn't take a history degree to figure out that sloppy writing and sensitive issues are a horrible combination. If a columnist can't see that, they're probably not worth your time.

UPDATE: Hill has been suspended.