Jemele Hill was suspended by ESPN when she remarked in a column that rooting for the Boston Celtics was like cheering for Hitler (or some inappropriate Nazi reference of the sort). So, it followed that when Lou Holtz referred to Hitler and how his leadership skillz relate to Rich Rodriguez, he would be equally punished.Turns out, um, not so much. You would think that Hill would be pretty upset at the obvious (right?) double standard that took place at the WWL over the past few months, but according to her all-flash blog, well, she's "okay" with it.
My initial answer is a story, or rather, a moment. A couple years ago, I was visiting the Poynter Institute (one of the foremost journalism think tanks in the country) and I sat in on a session taught by one of my favorite columnists and people, the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins.Okay, so I wouldn't say she's "happy" about the whole business, but she's at least willing to keep her mouth shut and move on.
A student asked her if she ever got upset when other writers were rewarded -- particuarly those writers who weren't as good. And Sally said -- and I'm paraphrasing here -- that she always prided herself on keeping her eyes on her own career. I never forgot that.
That's my answer. That's how I feel.
Of course, that kind of maybe probably has to do with the fact that making a stink out of this whole business won't do wonders for her employment status at this point, and moving on makes the most sense. On the other hand, both of them referenced Hitler. Both of them made the a stupid public mistake; only the medium is different. So, personally, I fail to see why Lou is going to be on the moving picture screen again this Saturday.
Via AA
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-22-2008 @ 12:29AM
Allessandra said...
I don't believe I've ever read an article by Jemele Hill that didn't include racial over/undertones.
Good writer - needs therapy to cope with her racial hang-ups!
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10-22-2008 @ 6:58AM
Tyrone said...
i don't believe I've ever read an article by Jemele Hill that used used logic to come to it's conclusion.
She is an awful "writer" who constantly contradicts herself depending on which stance incites more shock.
She does make every issue about race. I hope others have stopped reading the trash she produces and ESPN gets the message.
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11-04-2008 @ 5:10PM
gregg henson said...
You might want to try to hear the Holtz comments, he was not relating them to Rich Rod, but rather the senior leadership on the team, and that sometimes leaders have bad intentions such as not following the coach and causing problems in the locker room. You can't deny that Hitler was able to lead the Germans, he just had bad intentions.
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10-24-2008 @ 8:43PM
dance said...
The different medium does matter---it's not the same to share a thought that came into your head as it is to think it, write it down, edit it, reread your column, and decide to hit Send or Publish or whatever applies.
By the way, I did a search for "hill hitler holtz" on fanhouse.com, and nothing came up. Don't know how the search is supposed to work, but either design or execution is off.
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