--- description: Sarah Huckabee Sanders said a comment from an ESPN commentator calling President Trump a white supremacist is a "fireable offense" title: White House Says Jemele Hill's Trump Comment Is a 'Fireable Offense' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt425d8ae2512ce045/6988ddaf0a4a220e389cfe2c/jemele-hill-espn.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # An ESPN Commentator Called Trump a White Supremacist. The White House Said It's a 'Fireable Offense' by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 3:43 AM CUTPublished: Sep 13, 2017 8:26 PM CUT  Jemele Hill speaks onstage during the Genius Talks presented by RushCard at the 2014 BET Experience at L.A. LIVE on June 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Jemele Hill speaks onstage during the Genius Talks presented by RushCard at the 2014 BET Experience at L.A. LIVE on June 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Jonathan Leibson/BET—Getty Images for BET by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 3:43 AM CUTPublished: Sep 13, 2017 8:26 PM CUT White House Press Secretary [Sarah Huckabee Sanders](http://time.com/4868903/sarah-huckabee-sanders-spicer-press-secretary/ "undefined") said a comment from an ESPN commentator calling President Trump a white supremacist is a ‘fireable offense.’ “That’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make, and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN,” Sanders [said](https://twitter.com/MattGertz/status/908040509217804288 "undefined") during a press conference Wednesday. The commentator, [Jemele Hill](https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/09/12/jemele-hill-hears-espn-after-calling-donald-trump-white-supremacist "undefined"), who hosts the 6 p.m. edition of _SportsCenter_, referred to Trump as a white supremacist on Twitter Monday after initially responding to a tweet about Kid Rock. As more and more people jumped to respond to Hill on Twitter, the ESPN host volleyed back answers about Trump’s relationship with white supremacists, specifically in the wake of riots in Charlottesville, Va. in August. > [](https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/907391978194849793) > [](https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/907393203762073600) > [](https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/907393436487180292) Her tweets caused controversy, prompting [ESPN to release a statement](https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/09/12/jemele-hill-hears-espn-after-calling-donald-trump-white-supremacist "undefined"): “The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate.” Outrage spread online following both ESPN’s response and Sanders’ remarks at the White House. > [](https://twitter.com/Tia%5FOso/status/908055629343817729) > [](https://twitter.com/urkle9/status/908058462504062976) > [](https://twitter.com/MattFnWallace/status/908056645887864832) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4940156/espn-jemelle-hill-white-house-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4940156/espn-jemelle-hill-white-house-donald-trump/"},"headline":"An ESPN Commentator Called Trump a White Supremacist. The White House Said It's a 'Fireable Offense'","datePublished":"2017-09-13T20:26:08.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T03:43:52.000Z","description":"ESPN's Jemele Hill called Trump a white supremacist","url":"https://time.com/4940156/espn-jemelle-hill-white-house-donald-trump/","keywords":["White House","Television","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt425d8ae2512ce045/6988ddaf0a4a220e389cfe2c/jemele-hill-espn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt425d8ae2512ce045/6988ddaf0a4a220e389cfe2c/jemele-hill-espn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2014 BET Experience At L.A. LIVE - Genius Talks Presented By RushCard","caption":"2014 BET Experience At L.A. LIVE - Genius Talks Presented By RushCard","creditText":"Jonathan Leibson/BET—Getty Images for BET","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4940156/espn-jemelle-hill-white-house-donald-trump/","name":"An ESPN Commentator Called Trump a White Supremacist. The White House Said It's a 'Fireable Offense'"}}]}] ```