Controversial social justice warrior and former ESPN host Jemele Hill, is set to come back to TV by narrating Showtime’s Shut Up & Dribble. A three-episode documentary produced by LeBron James, which delves into athlete activism and the changing role of NBA players.
Hill told the New York Post that since leaving ESPN “It has been busy but it also has been exciting and exhilarating,” adding, “I like to align myself with people and content that will resonate.”
The social justice writer also criticized her previous ESPN show claiming that SportsCenter didn’t give her much opportunity to “inject” her political positions. “It wasn’t the same as commentary shows,” she said. “It is more of a traditional news program. There wasn’t a lot of wiggle room to inject personality.”
The coming documentary, though, will give her that opportunity.
The documentary, said by director Gotham Chopra to be “a film about the nexus of sports, politics and social issues,” will feature narration by the former ESPN host and current Atlantic writer, the Post reported.
Despite the NBA’s long history of indulging left-wing politics from its players, Hill thinks there is still room to criticize the activist league.
“The NBA has made the same mistakes that the NFL has made with Colin Kaepernick,” Hill exclaimed. “There is a consistent theme throughout the series that the black athlete should be happy with what they have and don’t ask for a penny more.”
Hill praised several key parts of the documentary. She felt that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refusing to participate in the national anthem in 1996 is a key part of the documentary. She also highlighted Oscar Robertson’s 1971 testimony before Congress, and Craig Hodges’ blackballing in 1993 because of his politics.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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