Jemele Hill knows a thing or two about drama at ESPN.
The previous “SportsCenter” host, who worked for the media giant from 2006 until she left the network in October 2018, didn’t hold back while discussing the Aaron Rodgers-Jimmy Kimmel controversy — and explained why ESPN must get a handle on the situation before history repeats itself.
Kimmel threatened legal motion against Rodgers after the Jets quarterback suggested the late-night host was potentially related to the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
“ESPN, or someone, goes to need to rein this in,” Hill said while appearing on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on Wednesday, adding that she believes Kimmel “made a call” to higher-ups at Disney.
“The Pat McAfee Show” airs on ESPN, while “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs on ABC, each of that are owned by parent company, Disney.
“We all know there’s no more offensive crime within the universe of ESPN and Disney than host-on-host crime or talent-on-talent crime,” Hill said. “There isn’t a larger offense. Ask Tony Kornheiser and Hannah Storm — like there isn’t a larger thing.
“I experienced a few of this myself when me and Chris Berman got into it behind the scenes and that escalated to a certain level of executive-ness. So, we understand how this happens.”
Hill speculated if Rodgers’ weekly appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” will eventually end as a consequence of the situation.
X/Pat McAfee
“I just have a sense that’s when these conversations are totally going to get out of hand about what Aaron Rodgers is or isn’t allowed to say,” Hill said. “And there’s an element of me that wonders, ‘Is that this going to be the tip of the weekly Aaron Rodgers appearances?’
“Perhaps not without delay within the moment. But looking down the road, in some unspecified time in the future, I assume in the event you’re ABC or ESPN or those individuals who receives a commission to make these decisions, you wonder, ‘Is it price it to have him on if every week there may be going to be some type of headline of him saying something and us making headlines for the fallacious reasons?’”
Rodgers isn’t an ESPN worker.
McAfee, who joined ESPN in September 2023 after signing an enormous contract within the spring, pays Rodgers greater than seven figures per yr to seem on his show each week, in response to The Post’s Andrew Marchand.
X/Pat McAfee
McAfee addressed the controversy on Wednesday’s episode of his show, and apologized for being involved within the media firestorm.
An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment when asked by The Post concerning the situation.
Along with Hill, Dan Le Batard and Pablo Torre, who also appeared on the show, are also former ESPN personalities.
“I remember at ESPN having pretty enormous fights just attempting to keep Ron Magil, the animal guy, [communications director of the Miami-Dade Zoo] on the air at ESPN.
“I’ve got to assume as ESPN isn’t any commenting stuff around Aaron Rodgers because he’s linking Disney’s biggest talk show host to the Epstein island … what type of problem here does ESPN and Disney have on its hand.”
ESPN’s top personality, Stephen A. Smith, also weighed in on the controversy in the course of the Wednesday installment of his YouTube show, “The Stephen A. Smith Show” — which covers bolder topics than what viewers see on the ESPN airwaves — and said Rodgers should apologize.
“I’ve been marveling at the way in which during which individuals who work still work at ESPN, like Stephen A., after they’re not at ESPN on-air can principally pivot to a certain horniness that was once unthinkable on Disney airwaves,” Torre said. “And I praise the pivot to horniness.
“I just wonder if Aaron Rodgers is at the purpose where he’s not even considering that that is insane and legally actionable also on a network [like Disney].”
Kimmel and Rodgers have history, because the late-night host has used the four-time MVP because the butt of jokes on his talk show.
Rodgers has yet to deal with Kimmel’s threat, which got here in the shape of an X post Tuesday.
