--- title: ESPN's Jemele Hill Is Leaving SportsCenter description: ESPN's Jemele Hill is leaving her host job at SportsCenter to become a writer at the Undefeated. Hill was once suspended for her tweets. canonical: https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-27T14:31:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T22:32:59.000Z article:section: Sports og:title: ESPN's Jemele Hill Is Leaving Her SportsCenter Host Job og:description: She'll become a writer at the Undefeated og:url: https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71ce00a8c5ade76a/6988f9b20a4a22cd519d18b9/jemele-hill.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2017 BET Experience - Slam Dunk Contest og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ESPN's Jemele Hill Is Leaving Her SportsCenter Host Job twitter:description: She'll become a writer at the Undefeated twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71ce00a8c5ade76a/6988f9b20a4a22cd519d18b9/jemele-hill.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ESPN's Jemele Hill Shuts Down Rumors She Was Demoted From _SportsCenter_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:32 PM UTCPublished: Jan 27, 2018 2:31 PM UTC  Jemele Hill and Michael Smith at the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2017 BET Experience. Jemele Hill and Michael Smith at the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2017 BET Experience.Leon Bennett—Getty Images for BET  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:32 PM UTCPublished: Jan 27, 2018 2:31 PM UTC Jemele Hill denied that she was demoted after [ESPN announced](http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2018/01/jemele-hill-getting-new-espn-duties-michael-smith-continuing-sportscenter-host/) she was leaving her _SportsCenter_ host gig to become a writer for _the Undefeated._ Hill addressed the rumors in a statement posted on Twitter, stressing that it was her decision to leave the show. “While I am amused by the rumors that I was demoted, kicked off the 6pm SportsCenter or whatever else can be conjured, the truth is pretty simple and not nearly as dramatic,” Hill said. > [](https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/957002297489477633) Hill, who will also provide on-air commentary for several ESPN programs, will be a chief correspondent and senior columnist for _the Undefeated_, ESPN’s platform devoted to race, culture and sport, according to the network. Hill’s _SC6 with Michael and Jemele_ cohost Michael Smith will stay in his current role. “I started at ESPN 11 years ago as a columnist and while I have worn many hats in the time since, my true love always has been writing, reporting and commentary,” Jemele Hill said in the statement. “While I have grown in every way imaginable this last year on the 6 p.m. _SportsCenter_, deep down I knew it wasn’t my calling.” Hill leaving ESPN comes a few months after she was [suspended for her tweets about NFL protests](http://fortune.com/2017/10/10/jemele-hill-suspended/), a decision that sparked outrage among many in the media and on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/917469637033512960) A month before that, Hill [called President Donald Trump a white supremacist on Twitter](http://time.com/4940156/espn-jemelle-hill-white-house-donald-trump/), which the White House deemed a “fireable offense.” > [](https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/907391978194849793) Jemele Hill’s last _SportsCenter_ broadcast will be Friday, Feb. 2. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/"},"headline":"ESPN's Jemele Hill Shuts Down Rumors She Was Demoted From SportsCenter","datePublished":"2018-01-27T14:31:33.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:32:59.000Z","description":"She'll become a writer at the Undefeated","url":"https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/","keywords":["Television","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71ce00a8c5ade76a/6988f9b20a4a22cd519d18b9/jemele-hill.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71ce00a8c5ade76a/6988f9b20a4a22cd519d18b9/jemele-hill.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2017 BET Experience - Slam Dunk Contest","caption":"2017 BET Experience - Slam Dunk Contest","creditText":"Leon Bennett—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/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5121552/jemele-hill-leaving-sportscenter/","name":"ESPN's Jemele Hill Shuts Down Rumors She Was Demoted From SportsCenter"}}]}] ```