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Black Star Power: Jemele & Michael hosting SportsCenter (The 6) means so much for black culture

playahaitian

playahaitian

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We live in a day and age where the television and movies we consume are becoming more diverse than ever before. Hit shows like Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Empire, Power and Luke Cage have shown the world that you can have a cast of diverse individuals who connect with everyone no matter what race, gender or creed you are.

The same type of movement is happening in journalism and specifically in sports journalism. Now, more than ever before, people with different backgrounds and perspectives are being given the opportunity to have a voice. An announcement ESPN made in October clearly represented the paradigm shift I’m referring to. Jemele Hill and Michael Smith were promoted from their current 12 p.m. shift on ESPN2 to the 6 p.m. SportsCenter on ESPN.

As a huge fan of Hill and Smith, I was overjoyed to hear this news but as an observer of their work and as a young black man in the industry it meant even more to me. Hill and Smith are unapologetically black in the way they present their views. The references they make, the lexicon they use and the discussions they have on their show are representative of the types of conversations I’m having with my peers everyday.



The hosts have an ability to use their experiences, their cultural perspective and their identities to give sports takes in a way that is authentic to the soul. There’s no other show on TV that can talk about Matt Barnes getting curved by Rihanna, spoof Coming to America and Empire, discuss women paying for dinner during a date or dissect the intersection of sports and culture in the way they do. The words they use in their chyrons, the “#DoinTooMuch countdown,” and the tone the show sets make it one of the most valuable pillars of our culture today.

When Michael Smith threw papers at Jemele Hill’s face by accident or when Smith mistakenly cussed on air, their reactions and the ensuing bits during each situation were the exact same way I would react. Smith asking Hill to help “pay for the lights” in the latter incident is such a small anecdote that perfectly portrays how dope it is to have them on television. I can see myself in them. The way they carry themselves gives me confidence to be the real me in a professional setting rather than having to code switch.

SportsCenter, for the last decade,has traditionally been the mountaintop of broadcast sports journalism. To see ESPN give Hill and Smith a chance with their flagship franchise is a testament to the value of being yourself. Hill and Smith have blazed a trail for me to be where I am today and I can’t wait to see how they continue setting themselves apart in February.

 
D

dwayne1376

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Glad she bounced back from being removed from the field and having her lady peers rag her about her hair.. I thought for the work shes done, that was truly unfair.
 
Mt. Yukon

Mt. Yukon

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BGOL Investor
I'll DVR and delete it for support, but I know I won't watch it. I hope they still do the podcast.
 
Mt. Yukon

Mt. Yukon

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BGOL Investor
SKATTA said:
Just goes to show how weak and unintelligent most these athletes are.
Bosh got dissed to his face,clearly incapable of defending himself,jemele has to step in and
check skip on his behalf in a very articulate way.
Click to expand...
I disagree. He was in Skips domain. He said his piece about his last name, then Skip goes to defend his continued use of it. At that point... You either throw hands or walk away. Skip is a troll, what was he supposed to do/say??? Anything short of an asswhopping wasn't gonna fit the bill. If he wasn't gonna fight him over it. Phucket.
 
SKATTA

SKATTA

International
International Member
Mt. Yukon said:
I disagree. He was in Skips domain. He said his piece about his last name, then Skip goes to defend his continued use of it. At that point... You either throw hands or walk away. Skip is a troll, what was he supposed to do/say??? Anything short of an asswhopping wasn't gonna fit the bill. If he wasn't gonna fight him over it. Phucket.
Click to expand...
Bosh accepted to come on the show,he knows skip angle and overall vibe.
he bosh should be more prepared to debate/lay a verbal ass whipping,he basically try to take the high road even yucking it up with skip at times.

Who do you think handled skip better,jemele or bosh?
 
Mt. Yukon

Mt. Yukon

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
SKATTA said:
Bosh accepted to come on the show,he knows skip angle and overall vibe.
he bosh should be more prepared to debate/lay a verbal ass whipping,he basically try to take the high road even yucking it up with skip at times.

Who do you think handled skip better,jemele or bosh?
Click to expand...

Jemele obviously, but she's also a journalist and makes a living being able to summon words at an instant to convey exactly how she feels. I don't belive Bosh to be stupid, but even an avg journalist can make intelligent people look very avg. Skip is also a journalist......... I don't think most people are going to beat him at his own game.
 
SKATTA

SKATTA

International
International Member
Mt. Yukon said:
Jemele obviously, but she's also a journalist and makes a living being able to summon words at an instant to convey exactly how she feels. I don't belive Bosh to be stupid, but even an avg journalist can make intelligent people look very avg. Skip is also a journalist......... I don't think most people are going to beat him at his own game.
Click to expand...
Ok Cool.
 
Pworld297

Pworld297

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
SKATTA said:
Just goes to show how weak and unintelligent most these athletes are.
Bosh got dissed to his face,clearly incapable of defending himself,jemele has to step in and
check skip on his behalf in a very articulate way.
Click to expand...

Yeah he came off as weak with his appearance on that show. Like you said Jamele pretty much saved him.
 
PLASMA CANNON

PLASMA CANNON

BLAST OFF....
BGOL Investor
:yes::cool::p...That's A Good Look...

So when is their First Show...2night or 2morrow??

:hellyea:Ready...

Good Look on those clips....
 
Complex

Complex

Internet Superstar
BGOL Investor
Didn't watch before, not going to watch now :dunno:

best of luck to them

I'm in the gym at that time
 
Trunks4191

Trunks4191

CONTRAUNIT
Registered
they fucking right? they gotta be fucking. even if as friends with benefits. they smashed atleast once.
 
playahaitian

playahaitian

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​

There’s nothing conventional about Jemele Hill and Michael Smith. Not their friendship, their career tracks and their meteoric rise — together — to the flagship show on the flagship sports network.

If you’ve been watching ESPN at all over the last month, you’ve noticed the promos for Hill and Smith, dancing to Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock’s hip-hop version of “It Takes Two.”

An unconventional commercial for an unconventional move.

They are the new hosts of the 6 p.m. weekday “SportsCenter” beginning Monday, and if you’re thinking they’re the next Chris Berman, Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann or Robin Roberts, think again.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of pressure on us,” Hill said. “But there’s a level of expectation with this show and this time slot.”

The pair has spent the past month on “the campaign trail,” as Smith put it, including that commercial and interviews all over national radio and the Internet, unprecedented in sports television.

“It’s nice to be the belle of the ball. We can’t say no one believes in us now,” Smith said.

But they’ve been working, too, spending the past few weeks crafting and rehearsing “The 6,” the once internal company moniker for this particular show that the duo is using as the new name for the public.

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“We’re just getting accustomed to being in a different space and getting accustomed to the new gadgets we can play with and how (the show is) shot,” Hill said. “And getting used to triple the staff that we’re used to.”

Hill, the Detroit Mumford and Michigan State grad who covered primarily MSU for the Free Press from 1999-2005, didn’t sign with ESPN in 2006 to join “SportsCenter.”

After writing columns for a few years and a stint as a college football sideline reporter, Hill was caught in a malaise professionally — a long-term vehicle wasn’t available.

Smith, a New Orleans native who made his name as the Patriots beat writer for the Boston Globe before joining ESPN in 2004, was in a similar position. His ESPN2 show, “Numbers Never Lie*,” was in a sea of constant change.

So the pair decided to start a podcast, ironically four years ago this week. The show’s success turned into Hill joining Smith in 2013 on “Numbers,” which was eventually renamed “His & Hers,” where the duo has talked sports topics, social and relationship issues, favorite television shows, music and done several movie spoofs.

“It started mostly out of frustration,” Hill said of her professional partnership with Smith. “We thought we had a really good dynamic. … We got to the point where we got sick of asking.”

“I think that early, in the beginning, once ‘His & Hers’ started, there were never any insecurities or trepidations on being ourselves because that’s all we’ve ever known.”

And so, being unapologetically themselves earned them critical acclaim and, more recently, new lucrative four-year deals with ESPN, and the chance to bring their ESPN2 show to a larger audience.

But this won’t be the 6 p.m. “SportsCenter” of the past with highlights and drop-ins from insiders and reporters, setting up the evening’s playing schedule. This show will be a lot like Hill’s and Smith’s last venture, which focused on discussion (and not debate).

“There are some people, when they think of ‘SportsCenter,’ they just want to see what happened. … So, for that crowd, that’s gonna be an adjustment.”

It has been a conscious shift for ESPN to utilize personalities to shape the tenor of ‘SportsCenter,’ most notably Scott Van Pelt’s version at midnight.

“I don’t necessarily gamble, but I enjoy watching Scott Van Pelt talking about gambling,” Smith said about the running features of his show. “When I lived in Detroit, I used to watch a lot of hockey. I don’t watch a lot now, but I love watching SVP talk to Barry Melrose about hockey.”

The serendipitous nature of this promotion isn’t lost on Hill or Smith. They said that two of their biggest backers at ESPN were longtime “SportsCenter” anchors Stuart Scott and John Saunders, two of the show’s most prominent black faces who have died in recent years.

Among the teams Hill has championed on TV is Michigan State, which, right now, is fighting to stay off of the NCAA tournament bubble.

“Considering that Tom Izzo once endorsed me for president, how can I not think that he won’t figure out how to get this done. It’s a young team with a lot of injuries,” Hill said.

But if somehow MSU misses the tournament, would Smith pounce to get some jabs in on their first “SportsCenter” after the brackets are released?

“Of course he is,” Hill exclaimed before Smith could confirm he would virtually as soon as the show started.

“The thing is, Mike isn’t a Michigan fan, he just likes to mess with me.”

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