Jemele Hill has found a landing spot; Ernie Johnson will miss the MLB Postseason; Stan Van Gundy is reportedly headed to ESPN.
Hill Lands at Atlantic
Former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill has joined The Atlantic — to be clear, not The Athletic — as a columnist, the publication announced Monday morning. Hill will serve as a Los Angeles-based staff writer covering sports, race, politics and culture. She begins her new role next week.
The Atlantic marks a return to print journalism for Hill, who was a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel and Raleigh News & Observer before joining ESPN in 2006. The announcement of her new role comes about a year after the most significant ordeal of her career — a month-long stretch in which her social and political commentary incurred the wrath of the White House and got her a three-week suspension from ESPN.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Atlantic‘s editor-in-chief said his “journalistic interests are somewhat different than Disney’s. … I’m not sure that ESPN is particularly interested, especially in television, in standing at the intersection of sports and culture and race and gender and politics.” [The Atlantic 10.1, The Hollywood Reporter 10.1]
Johnson to Skip MLB Postseason Due to Clots
Turner Sports broadcaster Ernie Johnson will not cover the MLB Postseason this year, as he has been diagnosed with blood clots in both legs and advised not to fly. Johnson will instead focus on TNT’s Atlanta-based NBA studio show, including hosting preseason coverage on Tuesday.
Johnson will be replaced by Don Orsillo on TBS MLB Postseason coverage. Orsillo will work with Dennis Eckersley on the network’s “B” team. Brian Anderson will again serve as the primary play-by-play voice, working the AL Wild Card Game, primary ALDS, and the full ALCS alongside Ron Darling. Eckersley will join the top team on the Wild Card game. [Turner Sports]
Van Gundy Poised to Join ESPN
Former Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is joining ESPN as an NBA studio host, the New York Post reported last week. Van Gundy, brother of ESPN’s lead NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, was previously set to join ESPN in 2012. The NBA — then led by commissioner David Stern, long a target of Van Gundy — is thought to have vetoed the effort. [NYP 9.28]
