Former ESPN staffer Jemele Hill will produce Colin Kaepernick documentary for her former network

By Michael P. Hill Article may include affiliate links

Included in the announcement that Disney and NFL player Colin Kaepernick have signed a production deal is news that a former ESPNer will be part of the new effort.

Jemele Hill, who left ESPN in 2018, faced criticism after she sent tweets critical of Donald Trump and Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones on two separate occasions in 2017.

The second offense resulted in a suspension.

Some called for her to be fired, while ESPN was criticized for what some say as a violating of Hill’s first amendment rights.

Hill, however, acknowledged that her tweets represented her own views and regretted bringing ESPN into the controversy.

The incidents opened a new debate into opinion in the world of sports broadcasting.

Hill had joined ESPN in 2006 as a website columnist. She eventually became anchor of a rebranded 6 p.m. hour of “SportsCenter” called “SC6 with Michael and Jemele,” which she co-anchored alongside Michael Saponara.

The hour never took off in the ratings and ESPN eventually announced Hill would depart the show Feb. 2, 2018, and shift to working for Undefeated, the network’s website focused on the intersections of sports and race.

She would eventually leave ESPN and join The Atlantic.

It’s worth noting that it appears Hill will be working for Kaepernick’s production company, Ra Vision Media, and not ESPN directly, though her former network is slated to air the documentary project Hill has been pegged to produce.