Jemele Hill is departing as co-anchor of the 6 PM hour of ESPN’s SportsCenter, but will remain with the Disney-owned network where she is currently under a multi-year deal, Deadline has learned.
Next month, Hill will join the staff of ESPN vertical The Undefeated, along with other responsibilities. ESPN would not comment, but sources familiar with the situation tell Deadline the choice to move was hers, that she asked management for the switch, and she is happy with the decision.
Last February, ESPN relaunched SportsCenter as SC6 with Hill and Michael Smith as its new anchors.
In September, Hill became the target of a tweet from President Donald Trump in which he demanded ESPN “apologize for untruth” after Hill tweeted that Trump is a “white supremacist.”
The White House blasted her tweet as a “fireable offense.” ESPN released a statement saying Hill’s tweets do not represent the position of the network; she was suspended two weeks over the incident. Hill later acknowledged that “Twitter wasn’t the place to vent my frustrations.”
It’s not known if ESPN will be replacing Hill on the 6 PM hour of SportsCenter or whether Smith will continue as solo anchor.
Sports Illustrated was first to report Hill’s move.