Jemele Hill

Well, see, if that would have happened, I would have been like, okay, this tracks. This is our brand, right? But you don't expect RG3 to come out of somewhere with a,

what he considered to be in his mind, and maybe this is sort of the dispiriting part, is that in his mind, you could tell when he allowed, you know, when he let off his opinions, that he actually thought he was given some kind of nuanced intellectual take that was somehow missed in all these years in which we have dissected, embraced, celebrated Jackie Robinson's legacy.

what he considered to be in his mind, and maybe this is sort of the dispiriting part, is that in his mind, you could tell when he allowed, you know, when he let off his opinions, that he actually thought he was given some kind of nuanced intellectual take that was somehow missed in all these years in which we have dissected, embraced, celebrated Jackie Robinson's legacy.

Here comes RG3 with something we've never thought about before or something that is so unique to this discussion that he needed to tell the world that, no, no, Jackie Robinson wasn't in Major League Baseball. It had nothing to do with politics, nothing at all.

Here comes RG3 with something we've never thought about before or something that is so unique to this discussion that he needed to tell the world that, no, no, Jackie Robinson wasn't in Major League Baseball. It had nothing to do with politics, nothing at all.

It had everything to do with the fact that he was just there as just a great player, and that's it, and just completely just whitewashing the entire context of why this was so meaningful in American politics and American life, period.

It had everything to do with the fact that he was just there as just a great player, and that's it, and just completely just whitewashing the entire context of why this was so meaningful in American politics and American life, period.

Well, yeah, I mean, and I don't mean to make it sound as if Stephen A is at home, you know, sort of figuring out what should my character say today? Like, I don't I don't want to insult him by, you know, sort of I'm just sort of politely making, you know, making fun of the whole, you know, kind of theater of it, because Stephen A does understand the performance element of television.

Well, yeah, I mean, and I don't mean to make it sound as if Stephen A is at home, you know, sort of figuring out what should my character say today? Like, I don't I don't want to insult him by, you know, sort of I'm just sort of politely making, you know, making fun of the whole, you know, kind of theater of it, because Stephen A does understand the performance element of television.

And because he understands that performance element and because he does it so well in a way that is very unique to him and in a way no one else in the industry can actually do it, that it is able to evoke reaction. You know, we live in an attention economy, Dan, as you know, and he's able to create a tornado of attention with everything that he says. And for a media company,

And because he understands that performance element and because he does it so well in a way that is very unique to him and in a way no one else in the industry can actually do it, that it is able to evoke reaction. You know, we live in an attention economy, Dan, as you know, and he's able to create a tornado of attention with everything that he says. And for a media company,

Like ESPN, this is extremely valuable. It's why he got the big contract. You know, his roots are in journalism. And for a long time, he was a very good and one of the best, if not the best, NBA reporter that was out there. But I think he's tapped into something that is easily monetized. So when it's not just...

Like ESPN, this is extremely valuable. It's why he got the big contract. You know, his roots are in journalism. And for a long time, he was a very good and one of the best, if not the best, NBA reporter that was out there. But I think he's tapped into something that is easily monetized. So when it's not just...

you know, this reporter saying something as Stephen A. Smith, the weight of his name is bringing something extra to any discussion that he is in. I just find it really more fascinating, the political turn that he's making while still being at ESPN and still representing ESPN because as you know, that is not something that is naturally embraced by this company.

you know, this reporter saying something as Stephen A. Smith, the weight of his name is bringing something extra to any discussion that he is in. I just find it really more fascinating, the political turn that he's making while still being at ESPN and still representing ESPN because as you know, that is not something that is naturally embraced by this company.

And so I think seeing his turn, his dramatic turn into politics is really quite stunning given the breadth of his career.

And so I think seeing his turn, his dramatic turn into politics is really quite stunning given the breadth of his career.

So that's the part that I do find to be interesting, is that he is embraced in a way in conservative circles that you don't often see by people in his position. Now, some of that is just based off some of the opinions that he shared about you know, things that he said about the Democratic Party and being very critical of them, which naturally will get you embraced by conservative circles.

So that's the part that I do find to be interesting, is that he is embraced in a way in conservative circles that you don't often see by people in his position. Now, some of that is just based off some of the opinions that he shared about you know, things that he said about the Democratic Party and being very critical of them, which naturally will get you embraced by conservative circles.

But very few people can vacillate between two wildly different networks. ESPN is not a political network at all. Fox is the most conservative network Or maybe they're not the most conservative because you do have Newsmax and you also have OWN. But, you know, they're at the top of the food chain, certainly when it comes to conservative networks.