ESPN directed staff Thursday to avoid “overt partisanship,” “personal attacks,” and “inflammatory rhetoric” on social media, following host Jemele Hill’s short-term suspension after calling President Trump a “white supremacist” and suggested NFL fans boycott advertisers of certain teams over their handling of player protests on Twitter.
“Commentaries on relevant sports-related issues are appropriate, but we should refrain from overt partisanship or endorsement of particular candidates, politicians or political parties,” excerpts of the sport broadcaster’s updated policy read. “We should offer balance or recognize opposing views, as warranted. We should avoid personal attacks and inflammatory rhetoric.”
Stricter guidelines were provided to writers, reporters, producers, and editors involved in “hard” news.
While ESPN president John Skipper told Sports Business Daily that the changes were not prompted by Hill’s actions, Hill was handed a two-week suspension for tweets that likely would be an infringement of the guidelines.
“The most important principles have not changed,” Skipper said upon the policy’s release. “Most profoundly, they reflect our continued commitment to journalism and our focus on sports.”
Hill returned to air on Oct. 23.
