Jemele Hill: Sports And Politics Have Always Mixed

Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James are the latest examples of athletes who speak out on social justice, but 'Shut Up And Dribble' narrator Jemele Hill argues that race and politics have always intersected with sports.
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is the premier late night talk show on CBS, airing at 11:35pm EST, streaming online via CBS All Access, and delivered to the International Space Station on a USB drive taped to a weather balloon. Every night, viewers can expect: Comedy, humor, funny moments, witty interviews, celebrities, famous people, movie stars, bits, humorous celebrities doing bits, funny celebs, big group photos of every star from Hollywood, even the reclusive ones, plus also jokes.

[@slurnie]

“If Colin Kaepernick hit a woman he’d be back in the NFL already” Sad but true

[@RyanDenzerKing]

So savage and 100% true

[@nitarhodes6525]

As those words left her mouth, all I could do was shake my head, because she is spot on. So incredibly sad, but undeniably true.

[@JustMe-zo6mx]

Sad but True😔😔. Racism, hate and fear is hurting us All,

[@kinggriffin4279]

yowch :'(

[@mbvglider]

That take was so hot.

[@theresuh219]

I wish this interview were longer.

[@andreaskarlsson5251]

Thought I'd dislike this interview quite a bit due to finding sports really boring. With that said, she was really funny at times and mimicked my thoughts on a lot of thoughts straight up. :) How can I dislike her when she's a smarter and "better" version of me. xD

[@beavisemojihere]

Me too, she had a lot of great things to say.

[@dudekazoo]

Wow, what an intelligent, thoughtful speaker. We need her and those like her now more than ever to be amongst our plurality of voices.

[@drbonesshow1]

Sounds like the toilet flushing on traditional values.

[@joelmittelstaedt2657]

She's racist

[@TheBigdan217]

She's lame af

[@warriorgoddessyaaasantewaa4773]

Ms. Hill, you spoke nothing but truth here...no lies...and I definitely peeped the shirt! ;-)

[@joelmittelstaedt2657]

Racist truths.

[@alfredoalcantar8691]

😂

[@commenterperson4481]

6:24 _"Remember what you say today, and how that will be remembered later." -- Jemele Hill

[@sealab8712]

Doesn't really apply to the internet though does it? Look at how much legally damning shit trump and has pounded out on twitter, if he said any of which out loud would be grounds for impeachment and treason, even though he says personally that his twitter is a direct word of mouth.

[@GhostRiley8799]

A lesson learned

[@TheMikeydudeman]

Sounds like shes into cancel culture then

[@alfredoalcantar8691]

@@sealab8712 But Obama didn’t commit treason think

[@ilenastarbreeze4978]

the distrubing thing is, yes people are pro racism and pro police brutality ... thats the really really sad part ...

[@genevievemarie9427]

Ilena Starbreeze Absolutely!

[@technologyandinnovation4586]

there are many sick people out there

[@ThePeejRR]

Fascism. Fascists. Those are the two words that describe 'pro racism' and 'pro police barbarism.'

[@cjasewell]

@Mohammed Ismail They're too busy going to Harvard, I think.

[@olegzhokhsrightarm8849]

Also disgusting - people who call cops pigs, praise brutal dictators like Castro and have 0 respect for national symbols.

[@10yonten]

seamlessly articulate. a splendid young woman

[@joelmittelstaedt2657]

She's racist

[@mickeydees1]

@ R. J. Garward. Splendid young women? R.J stands for real jokester. She’s completely reverse racist. Hates white people publicly. Crawl back in your hole 🐑

[@smithyman33]

Ugly as sin

[@rwmorey71]

"Grammar isn't his thing" LOL So many things are not Drumpf's "thing"!

[@rn6710]

Aaaand then she mispronounced Laura Ingrham's name.

[@claireconover]

I’m not a fan of the sport... but I’m genuinely sorry to hear his career is ended over this. he was justified in his protest and everyone should have been on board in the ending police brutality. I hope never to meet one of those pro police brutality fans.

[@poolplayerpoolplayer7430]

Lol you are brainwashed by celebrities!! These footballers should not be allowed to lie in front of a huge audience!! The NFL should be non biased

[@genevievemarie9427]

Claire Conover. There are more people than you think who don't give a crap about police brutality towards the Black community. In reality, they dont hate Kaepernick for kneeling down, they just hate the reason behind it!

[@nbrockification]

@@poolplayerpoolplayer7430 Where is the lie?

[@claireconover]

poolplayer poolplayer

[@PaulGAckerman]

I stopped watching football after learning about CTE. I wish I could watch it now because I support athletes like Colin Kaepernick and the stands they take.

[@Fifthelement203]

One of the best 7mins ever with a guest. Tons of knowledge in that short segment. I hope everyone was listening.

[@alfredoalcantar8691]

She is racist in CERT propagandist

[@user-cv3fu6xv5c]

Go Jemele!

[@reginapeet6648]

She'll definitely be broadcasting her own sport show soon. She's that good and knows a lot.

[@abrahamrivera6298]

Lmao cuz her last show did so well huh

[@rgwak]

Why was it that fox news loved it when Kanye West spoke out about politics when he was pro-t'rump? I don't seem to recall them saying "stick to music."

[@10akee]

Jemele Hill is awesome.

[@paulkruse9004]

TRUTH.

[@rossturchyn253]

Human advocacy - not political advocacy, social advocacy. The Berlin 1936 Olympics where Jesse Owens took Gold in front of the entire Nazi party "master race" - a Black Man. In America "there is always someone bigger than you" ..in Cantonese "there is always someone better than you" - being Canadian, can you tell me which one is wrong?

[@jedi.knight5859]

This was good. Didn’t think it was going to be. Good for her. Lol at the dislikes tho, your otherness is showing😂

[@genevievemarie9427]

Jed I Knight. Everything she said was true. The people protesting athletes voicing their political opinions is solely because they disagree with those opinions.

[@chwalkero2009]

Not a fan of ESPN, hence, did not follow jemele hill. The interview showed she is extreme insightful in social issues.

[@TheMikeydudeman]

sports and politics don't mix. the ratings prove otherwise

[@MeleeTiger]

"Is there anyone who's pro racism or police brutality?" Yes, this show opened about you tweeting such a person.

[@slapnasty5183]

Thought i was the only one who caught that...

[@slapnasty5183]

@Mohammed Ismail You pecker woods tough on the key boards.

[@commenterperson4481]

@dandivine On YT, there are many fake accounts, supposedly engaged in a psychological game of misinformation/instigation. Ignore them.

[@josephgramling6026]

You go Jemele proud of you keep up the good work

[@Lizziebow2829]

That is a smart lady

[@rn6710]

She's also a radical liberal.

[@tonykaze]

One of the best interviews glad this made TLS

[@mxtw7910]

Her eyes are so beautiful

[@NewCreationInChrist896]

Powerful words, a soldier. If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. #TrueFaith

[@NellieKAdaba]

Right

[@alexbey401]

Great stand: As the old saying goes, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything "

[@ebybeehoney]

SMART lady. I would totally vote for you if you decided to get into politics!

[@Mikaylap713]

Kate maybe save your vote for people who have experience and actually want to work. Celebrities need to stay out of politics.

[@joelmittelstaedt2657]

She's more racist than Rosanne.

[@taryndorsey5581]

Lived for this interview. Yes sis.

[@kyngblack-elephant5564]

Wow!!! Awesome

[@adamkareem]

"if Kaepernick had hit a woman, he'd still be playing today. But he took a stand for equality and he's not playing" . Powerful take Jamele. Thank you

[@ryanr20091]

Thats not true because ray rice is not playing

[@adamkareem]

@@ryanr20091 Oh true, I forgot about Ray Rice

[@RetroNBA42]

@@adamkareem He’s not playing because he sucks

[@melvina628]

This is my first time seeing Ms. Hill. I was pleasantly surprised. I wish I could select the like icon 10 more times.

[@fuzznakano]

she's great. one of the best guests. mjr tokyo

[@Skaur84]

Awesome 💖

[@ninedakom]

Protesting police brutality peacefully is not a crime yet they black ball kapernick from the league. Meanwhile Ray Rice uppercuts his wife in camera and drags her and he was sooner to get reinstated

[@dannybowers8017]

Ratings went down with Kaepernick. Nobody cared about ray rice. Also Kaepernick was just a back up.

[@ninedakom]

@@dannybowers8017 glad that rating are more important than morality

[@ninedakom]

@@dannybowers8017 I don't think that morality had anything to do with it which was the purpose of my comment. :/

[@xBITCHESxHATExMEx]

Proud to say she's from my city. Detroit is in the house. She represents well. Great writer as well...

[@Alizardlovesyou]

Thank you

[@nightingalebou2342]

Refreshing ☺️

[@NataliePierson1]

Love her honesty.

[@NBAkingsfan10]

Love Jamele Hill and first!!!

[@LindaMitchell]

Ms. Hill is so inspiring. I enjoy listening to her opinions on the history of sports and politics. She speaks truth to power.

[@friedalove1315]

Sweet!

[@rebeccakane8854]

she is so beautiful and cool and smart!

[@firstnamesurname2210]

Very interesting interview. This woman speak straight facts!

[@alfredoalcantar8691]

😂

[@smithyman33]

There’s no way this videos like/dislike ratio wasn’t manipulated.

[@MKMK-bj2sk]

*Shut up and **-drive-** **-dance-** Dribble*

[@lazyperfectionist1]

"Some people don't like the veggies and the mashed potatoes touching." Oh, nonsense! Mashed potatoes _are_ vegetables!

[@pop5678eye]

'Miracle on ice' was completely politicized yet not a single criticism in the USA.

[@cleverclover7]

Steven's got zero agenda. He asks fair open questions that get to the heart of what his guests care about the most and we stan.

[@scorpiusjones5436]

She doesn't need that show anyway. Her new show sounds awesome and I think she'll be able to make a bigger impact with it. ✌🏻

[@DarthCruciare87]

As many times as I see it, I still can't believe some of the timestamps of his tweet. That was sent at 3:42 in the morning. That's nuts. Is it so late, that he hasn't got to bed yet, or he's up that early and already bitching? I think we all know it's the former, considering his workday often doesn't start until past noon. A disgrace, considering some Presidents started their day as early as 6:30 in the morning. There's no hard and fast rule as to when the head of state should start his day. But I like to think that the man in charge of running the most powerful country in the world should not be starting his workday at the same time the average American worker is already on their lunch break. Imagine if 9/11 had happened under Trump. The towers were hit at around 9 in the morning. Can you imagine the outrage if the President of the United States was literally asleep at the switch at the time the towers fell? "Wake up, Mr. President! The country is under attack!" "How dare you wake me up at the crack of dawn! Don't you know I was up until 4 am on Twitter? Wake me up when we invade Iran!" "Uh, sir, it's 9 in the morning, and it's Iraq, not Iran." "Whatever, same difference!"

[@rurounitonyx]

Check those time stamps and then check what time was it in Moscow. There's a possible answer.

[@Seafox0011]

DarthCruciare87 The thing is Trump is on the cluster b spectrum, and erratic sleep patterns are symptomatic of that.

[@DarthCruciare87]

@@Seafox0011 An erratic sleep pattern would disqualify most of us running a fucking Arby's, let alone a country. But he gets a pass because of the cult of personality surrounding him.

[@hazard1371]

She is totally right about Kaepernick!!

[@EvadoCouto]

She’s brilliant

[@etcetraetcetra3173]

Love her.

[@Seafox0011]

In another country the NFL would be in court for discrimination.

[@Iamtheyamyam]

The very action of playing a sport was political in England in the 1640s and 1650s. It was an illegal act during the Interregnum but to play a sport was a way of Royalist protest. Politics governs all things so all things are political.

[@dontaylor7315]

An American analogy of sorts can be found in Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige. Though it wasn't literally illegal for them to play baseball with whites, the fact they dared to do it was totally a political act.

[@jasonmcintyre22]

👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[@witchypoorose5196]

OMGEE I LOVE her! 😁😃

[@peterrawai4062]

She's awesome

[@rafaelmendez9481]

Why are videos being deleted

[@mischr13]

She's amazing

[@MS-dh9gh]

Truth bomb! Truth bomb! truth bomb !

[@drbonesshow1]

Colbert: Late-night TV's resident Elfin-eared freak. It's a wonder "she" didn't try to bite it off for a snack. Signed, Mike Tyson.

[@barbgruber]

So true! Sometimes there is just right or wrong. No one is pro police brutality or pro racism. But, if politics is reduced to a pro and a con argument, can anybody say they are “anti-life”? No? I thought so. The right to choose cannot be reduced to politics, either. Politics is figuring out how to solve problems. And we got plenty.

[@joyjenkins7756]

I'm not into sports but I love her and she was good on the Breakfast Club too

[@naoise555]

LeBron will go down in history as being up there on the same level as Muhammad Ali.

[@naoise555]

@Keyser Soze Muhammad Ali was once just an outspoken athlete, and LeBron James is still very young. Let's wait twenty years and see.

[@ThePeejRR]

@Na M Lebron hasn't taken the government of the US to court.

[@dizzug4058]

@Keyser Soze Ali's sacrifices made it so a man like LeBron could do and say the things he does without being locked up, stripped of his title, etc. i always thought Jordan was a better basketball player but LeBron is a better role model on equal justice for all, he's not afraid to take a stand

[@pja4671]

Maybe. He seems to be getting his voice instead of going the Jordan route. Remember, Ali lost the peak years of his career and income which is a real sacrifice.

[@dontaylor7315]

@@ThePeejRR not yet, but who knows?

[@chrissiek8706]

She should send Ingraham some flowers for that dribble comment. Some dead flowers, but anyway, is the thought that counts, right? 😏

[@branch1534]

This clip is what I think of when I think of modern Late Night comedy. Political, divisive, and not even close to comedic.

[@tgkelly82]

Pretty much the only common sense thing ever said on this show. Way to go Jemele!

[@CrowdPleeza]

Very few people have a problem with Colin Kaepernick wanting to address abusive policing. The problem is that he chose a very controversial and distracting way of addressing it.

[@pop5678eye]

Look at the history of Olympics, and especially the USA commentator narratives on each and then tell me if Americans really believe in keeping sports and politics apart...

[@wilihgrolsch3544]

Love this girl. Pity Stephen's audience were very quiet. Why is this? Black lives matter? Maybe not in Brooklyn huh?

[@tomitstube]

this lady is impressive, she should run for office.

[@scottiehicks6708]

Got on that Nina Simone shirt

[@christinejordan7121]

is that nick van exel?

[@ambassador8524]

Someone help me understood why people listen to what athletes think and say. Athlete’s lives are based on being the best with balls. Though I do appreciate they beat a lot of people to get in their position.

[@blobulous3500]

mixing politics and sports are like putting two beta fish in the same tank

[@dannybowers8017]

So she say ESPN is not political enough. Being political is whats killing them.

[@RobertDGordon]

SCROTUS has us living in the "Upside Down" where people support him and his constant lies and vilify people like Jemele, Kaepernick & Lebron for simply speaking the truth...

[@gingercat777]

Hit dogs holler.....I'm not an American, can someone explain.

[@sherristar89]

Hurt people hurt people

[@poopoo9797]

I love her more now and lbj the king

[@MissKittenCinema]

Jemele Hill is smart, pretty, and ballsy. I think that trump keeps beaking off about the NFL because he still wants to have a team, and probably has fantasies that everybody would say he cleaned up the NFL (of peaceful protests), and made it profitable again, or some such nonsense. He always casts himself as the hero, but doesn't ever act heroically.

[@goncharov000]

i don't know what it is, but she looks like a vampire... in a good way

[@ghostdini8372]

Its her eyes

[@littlesame]

She’s right and too bad for espn who’s failing anyways.

[@chumlee9927]

The problem with Kaepernick isn't his views, but the fact that he was voicing/demonstrating his views during the game on company time. It's like if a performer on Broadway smuggled in a political demonstration during a musical number. Your freedom of speech is filtered by your workplace, and if you don't like it then you probably won't continue working for a particular employer.

[@davidmartin6804]

01:03 With Trump, it's always about ratings. He doesn't seem to differentiate reality television from reality.

[@Seldomane]

Based on the spelling it should be pronounced "GeeMeeLee". Wtg mom and dad........

[@mbvglider]

People used to hate on Jemele Hill for speaking truth about rampant sexism and racism that people were getting away with on the sly. Now, everybody can see that she was right the whole time, and people will act like they were on her side the whole time.

[@___Tj]

Jemele is much smarter than I thought :/

[@hchen-gb1tw]

AND SERENA WILLIAMS

[@brownietime902]

Jemele you are a Hero as well, as woman standing up to ESPN, you too have sacrificed a lot in a dominant White Man industry. KAEP took one for all 32 Teams, the players and Coaches alike. A Hero he is and although sad to not see him playing, the sacrifice he made will live on forever and the history books. A little boy dream halted too soon by the hands of a Racist POTUS who called black NFL players SOBs and the NFL too his side, GMs, Owners, Cowards. San Francisco 49ers will NEVER be the same, and not in a good way. Karma will live in that Team Forever! KAEP CURSE! 2-8.

[@alfredoalcantar8691]

Kaepernick a bench that’s why he started protesting

[@GhostRiley8799]

I just watched the vlad tv interview with jemele, which felt exploitive of her life unnecesarily. As opposed to this, which focused more on the sports platform

[@LatashaTrueHeart]

What would happen if all the black players of every sport gathered together to create independent leagues and all the fans who love to watch these athletes play, support them in those leagues? Would the NFL, NBA, MLB, USTA, Olympics, etc., be the same or would these newfound leagues actually severely disrupt those which blackball players who call for equality and their sick little games (ands I don't mean the actual sport)?

[@chris8456]

🤙🤐🏀

[@rondazug9525]

Why is she dressed so casually

[@aj-ph2tx]

not sure, i thought she knew someone in the military.

[@radioheadloove]

If Colin had SHOT someone, he would have been back in the NFL.

[@NewMessage]

Of course they do.. they're both about exercising the greatest human social instinct... in-grouping and out-grouping... and waging mock war with 'the other'.

[@jeromehoyle4945]

When you have one of the most powerful people in the free world who hijacks a social movement and twists it for his own personal gain that's not the crime, the true crime is the people who allow it to happen. I think that's the true crime.

[@P0RKINS2]

This comment section is a reminder that 1/2 of the population has an I.Q. under 90.

[@MKMK-bj2sk]

*Hi Jamal*

[@riesberg319]

do they edit out the part where Stephen acknowledges what she says before pivoting to the close? I understand in theory why it would be, but it makes the segment and Stephen feel less human...or less sympathetic to the enigmatic stars that get a "thank you, too true" if they edit this for time in this case.

[@mannys4539]

I hope your wrong because Kaepernick 100% belongs in the league!!! hands down!!! but this off time is only gonna hurt him

[@qbqb99]

Dam jemele Your on late night this was an opportunity to dress up and look your best.

[@classictalkies]

Q B She looked great. Maybe you should have been paying more attention to what she said - the real reason for her appearance.