ESPN Host Committed 'Fireable Offense' With Trump 'White Supremacist' Tweet: White House Aide

WASHINGTON ESPN should consider firing host Jemele Hill for calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says.

I think thats one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make, and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN, Sanders said during Wednesdays press briefing.

WH Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Jemele Hill's tweets calling Trump a white supremacist were \"outrageous\" and a \"fireable offense.\" pic.twitter.com/dpsLWAb5Pv

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WH Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Jemele Hill's tweets calling Trump a white supremacist were "outrageous" and a "fireable offense." pic.twitter.com/dpsLWAb5Pv
JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) September 13, 2017

Asked by The Washington Posts David Nakamura why an influential African American sportscaster might make such a comment, Sanders said, Im not going to speak for that individual, but I know that the president has met, again, with people like Senator [Tim] Scott, who are highly respected leaders in the African-American community.

Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, met with Trump Wednesday at the White House, in part to discuss the presidents controversial comments following the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month that sparked deadly violence. After Trump at a news conference said there was blame of both sides for the violence, Scott told Vice News that the presidents moral authority had been compromised.

Trump is committed to working with [leaders of the black community] to bring the country together, Sanders said on Wednesday. I think thats where we need to be focused, not on outrageous statements like the one by Hill.

Hill, who co-hosts ESPNs SC6 with Michael Smith, lashed out at Trump in a series of Twitter posts on Monday, calling the president a white supremacist unfit to serve in the White House.

Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists, she tweeted.

Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.

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Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017

Hill went on to call Trump the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime, and said his rise is the direct result of white supremacy. Period.

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In a statement on Tuesday, ESPN said Hills comments about Trump do not represent the position of the cable network. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate, the statement said.

ESPN has taken heat in recent years from conservatives who say the network has stuck its nose in politics and pushed a liberal agenda. ESPNs double standard shows when hosts speak out , read a Wednesday headline on Fox News .

To make its point, Fox pointed to ESPNs firing of analyst and former professional baseball pitcher Curt Schilling in May 2016 over a demeaning anti-transgender Facebook post by him.

The post, apparently in response to North Carolinas anti-LGBT bathroom law, included a meme showing a man dressed in revealing womens clothing. With it Schilling commented: A man is a man no matter what they call themselves . I dont care what they are, who they sleep with, mens room was designed for the penis, womens not so much. Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.

In a statement announcing Schillings termination, ESPN said it was an inclusive company and that his conduct was unacceptable.

Schilling had long made his conservative viewpoints known before the offending post.

This article has been updated with Scotts meeting with Trump on Wednesday and details of Schillings 2016 firing by ESPN.