ESPN’s Jemele Hill has been named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists.
According to Sports Illustrated Monday, the 42-year-old writer and former host of Sports Center recently took home the honor that is typically awarded to a journalist “who has amassed a distinguished body of work with extraordinary depth, scope and significance to the people of the African Diaspora.”
“It would be a serious understatement to call this recognition from NABJ special,” Hill shared. “This organization has been a second family for me, both personally and professionally. I am humbled to be honored by an organization whose values not only match my own journalistically but has tirelessly dedicated itself to developing and nurturing journalists like me.”
Last September, Hill made headlines after she went on a rant on Twitter slamming President Donald Trump as a “white supremacist” and “the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime.”
A short time later, she was suspended for two weeks for violating what the network called their social media guidelines when she attacked Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for threatening to bench players who participated in National Anthem protests and called for a boycott of the team/advertisers.
When she returned, Hill was no longer part of Sports Center and reassigned to a commentary position for its website called “The Undefeated.”
Previous winners include American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan and NBC’s Lester Holt.