Jemele Hill discussing Aaron Rodgers on CNN NewsNight Photo Credit: CNN
By Reice Shipley on

Aaron Rodgers’ public slander of longtime late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on The Pat McAfee Show has been discussed by nearly everyone in the world of sports media at this point. But perhaps no one has a better view on the matter than former ESPN personality Jemele Hill.

Hill notably worked for the company from 2006-2018, serving several different roles at ESPN over that time. At the time of her departure, the network was seemingly trying to distance itself from non-sports issues which got Hill into hot water.

A few years removed from that, ESPN now finds itself wrapped in a similar situation with Rodgers’ regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, whether it’s his thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine or more recently his comments about Jimmy Kimmel and the Jeffrey Epstein list.

Despite the potential controversy that comes with having Aaron Rodgers as a regular guest on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN declined to take any action and he returned on Tuesday, where he claimed that the mainstream media is trying to “silence him,” particularly taking issue with ESPN Senior Vice President Mike Foss.

“This is the gameplan of the media,” said Rodgers. “They try to cancel, and it’s not just me. You can look at all these different people who have been censored from the internet. The canceling that went on, the censorship. And if that doesn’t work, they go to name calling.”

Hill immediately took exception to this comment from Rodgers, stating that the sheer fact that he is still on The Pat McAfee Show is proof that he is not being censored or silenced.

She also commented on the current state of the show itself, specifically compared to how her old ESPN show, SC6, was perceived by some.

https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/1744797776809206206

Hill also appeared on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Tuesday night to discuss Rodgers’ regular Pat McAfee Show appearances along with the current state of ESPN as a network.

“Every week when you see Aaron Rodgers on the Pat McAfee Show, it’s like you are watching Newsmax,” said Hill. “So I’m just trying to figure out where all of this is going. “The network is so funny because they spent a lot of time trying to remove themselves from being considered to be political. Because they were accused mostly by right-wing conservatives of being too liberal. And now it seems like they have embraced it and run in a different direction.”

Hill also discussed Rodgers’ claims of the media trying to “silence” him during her CNN guest appearance, largely laughing at the thought entirely.

“What really is annoying is that he is on a weekly mainstream media platform complaining about the mainstream media censoring him. Sir, you are not silenced. People just think a lot of the things coming out of your mouth are stupid.”

[Awful Announcing on Twitter/X]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley