Transcript

Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter

From Jemele Hill · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 42 min · 7,762 words · 53 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter", an episode of Jemele Hill published January 12, 2026 (42 min, about 7,762 words). It mentions 25 people, works and ideas, including Lynn Jones, Jacksonville Free Press, Jamal Hill, Press Conference Ethics, Sports Journalism.

What this episode is about

Jemele Hill addresses the controversy surrounding Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jones' interaction with Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Cohen, which gained significant attention on social media. She reflects on the divided reactions from media and fans and shares her own thoughts, acknowledging her initial mistake in commenting on the situation.

Key takeaways

  • In the press room, compassion isn't a job requirement; objectivity is the gold standard for journalists.
  • Lynn Jones' pep talk went viral, yet sparked debate: empathy or overstepping? Context is everything.
  • Sports journalism is often a tug-of-war: fans crave warmth, while reporters must maintain professional distance.
  • A 'nice moment' can polarize viewers; some see kindness, others critique professionalism—welcome to modern media.
  • Public interpretation matters, but remember: the press isn't a cheerleading squad; it's meant to inform, not comfort.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Lynn Jones, Jacksonville Free Press, Liam Cohen, Jacksonville Jaguars
  2. – 10:00: Jacksonville Free Press, Jamal Hill, Press Conference Ethics, Black Press
  3. – 15:00: Orlando, Press Conference Ethics, Liam Cohen, Stephen A. Smith
  4. – 20:00: Lynn Jones, NFL
  5. – 25:00: Stephen A. Smith
  6. – 30:00: Jacksonville Free Press, Black Press, Jamal Hill, Lynn Jones
  7. – 35:00: Lynn Jones, Black Press, Jacksonville Free Press, Michigan Chronicle
  8. – 40:00: Jacksonville Free Press, Lynn Jones, Black Press, NAACP Image Award
  9. – 42:16: Jamal Hill

Notable quotes from "Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter"

  • Went viral again between a Jacksonville longtime Jacksonville reporter Lynn Jones and Liam Cohen from the Jacksonville Jaguars after the Jaguars lost a very close one to the Buffalo Bills yesterday.
    about Liam Cohen · at
  • Have that kind of community relationship, it is different than the relationship you would have if you were at a ESPN or I am at the Atlantic or any of these national…
    about Jamal Hill · at
  • Cover because they developed a close relationship. One thing that I remember Stephen A. Smith saying a long time ago because him and Allan Iverson had developed a personal…
    about Stephen A. Smith · at
  • Made these guard rails for these pressers. By the way, just real quick, what you should know is that on the back of a lot of NFL credentials, pretty much all of them, any…
    about Press Conference Ethics · at
  • Community newspapers are completely different. So within the scope of community news, this exchange made a lot of sense. so anyway, this is a true story of something that happened to me early in my career. And we talk about.
    about Community Journalism · at
  • I went to the Jacksonville Free Presses website because again, as I mentioned, that this is one of the few black newspapers still in existence. the black press.
    about Jacksonville Free Press · at
  • I'm the associate editor of the Jacksonville Free Press, one of the more than 230 African-American newspapers still printing in this country today. In Jacksonville, you had the Florida.
    about Lynn Jones · at
  • Would love to make or am making in this moment is that it's politics my podcast has been nominated for NAACP Image Award. I'm very excited about this for most outstanding…
    about NAACP Image Award · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Lynn Jones — Person · Central referenced figure · 11 mentions · first at
    Her postgame press-conference comments to Jaguars coach Liam Cohen sparked the viral controversy and drives the episode's discussion about journalistic norms, community journalism, and the Black Press.
  • Jamal Hill — Person · Host (self-referential) · 3 mentions · first at
    He narrates the episode, explains journalistic ethics from personal experience, apologizes to Lynn Jones, and promotes supporting the Jacksonville Free Press and the Black Press.
  • Liam Cohen — Person · Referenced subject of viral moment · 3 mentions · first at
    He is the coach addressed in the viral press-conference exchange, used to examine boundaries between empathy and professional press-conference conduct.
  • Adam Shafter — Person · Referenced amplifier on social media · 1 mention · first at
    He is cited as the person who tweeted the clip that made the moment widely seen; his framing ('sweet/awesome') becomes part of the media debate.
    Coach Liam Cole that went viral and I first saw it on X because Adam Shaper tweeted it out otherwise I'll be honest, I probably would not have paid attention to it otherwise…
  • Stephen A. Smith — Person · Referenced media example · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as an example of blurred lines between journalism and entertainment and as a model for stepping back from coverage when personal relationships form.
  • Tom Izzo — Person · Referenced coach in host anecdote · 2 mentions · first at
    Appears in a story illustrating how long-term beat coverage can create personal relationships, and why journalists often keep boundaries in public settings.
    We wish you well. thanks for the job that you did and covering us, blah, blah, blah. ISO even invited me to his house for dinner. And it was funny cuz he has like this amazing…
  • Trevor Lawrence — Person · Referenced athlete · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a looming storyline after the Jaguars loss—questions about whether he can lead Jacksonville forward.
    Know you know kind of obviously we see how their season ended and there were going to be questions about Trevor Lawrence and whether or not he is the quarterback that can take…
  • Graham Couch — Person · Referenced critic · 1 mention · first at
    Quoted criticizing Adam Schefter's judgment for calling the exchange 'awesome,' reflecting intra-media disagreement about norms.
    Some of the responses to that some of those by people I know. I don't know Graham Couch personally but I know the publication he works for. I think we met a couple times. Again…
  • Ian Begley — Person · Referenced critic · 1 mention · first at
    Quoted offering a measured critique: the moment is nice but not part of a reporter's job, reinforcing the ethics theme.
    Professionally, never mind the other gals. Harsh this is from Ian Begley, also another reporter. Very nice exchange. wouldn't call it an exchange between a reporter and the…
  • Brooke Prior — Person · Referenced critic · 1 mention · first at
    Quoted explaining pressers are for questions under time pressure, supporting the host's argument about professional norms.
    Sports reporter's job. It's true. It's not. All right. and this one from Brooke Prior. Look, it's a kind sentiment, but it's not the job of a reporter to console a coach in a…

Companies & orgs

  • Jacksonville Free Press — Company · Core organization / call-to-action target · 8 mentions · first at
    Presented as a community newspaper and a surviving Black Press outlet; the host urges subscriptions and social follows as a concrete response to the controversy.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars — Company · Referenced team central to incident · 2 mentions · first at
    The team context for the viral press conference; their loss to the Bills and season framing set the stage for the exchange.
    Went viral again between a Jacksonville longtime Jacksonville reporter Lynn Jones and Liam Cohen from the Jacksonville Jaguars after the Jaguars lost a very close one to the Buffalo Bills yesterday.
  • ESPN — Company · Referenced national outlet / contrast case · 4 mentions
    Used to contrast national, transactional coverage with community outlets and to discuss how TV personalities blur journalism and entertainment.
  • NFL — Company · Referenced rule-setting body · 1 mention · first at
    Cited regarding credential codes of conduct and press-box rules that shape press conference and reporting behavior.
    Made these guard rails for these pressers. By the way, just real quick, what you should know is that on the back of a lot of NFL credentials, pretty much all of them, any…
  • Michigan Chronicle — Company · Referenced Black Press outlet · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned by Lynn Jones as a long-running Black newspaper in Detroit; the host endorses it personally as part of Black Press heritage.
    1986 in Philadelphia. The Tribune, the Philly Trabune has been printing since 1884. In my hometown of Detroit, the Michigan Chronicle has been printing since 1935. So, support the black press.
  • Philly Tribune — Company · Referenced Black Press outlet · 2 mentions
    Cited by Lynn Jones as an example of historic Black Press longevity, reinforcing the call to support Black newspapers.
    Jacksonville, you had the Florida Star since 1955. We've been around since 1986 in Philadelphia. The Tribune, the Philly Trabune has been printing since 1884. In my hometown of…
  • Florida Star — Company · Referenced Black Press outlet · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as another Jacksonville-area Black newspaper (since 1955), used to show local Black Press history.
    Than 230 African-American newspapers still printing in this country today. In Jacksonville, you had the Florida Star since 1955. We've been around since 1986 in Philadelphia.…
  • Buffalo Bills — Company · Referenced opponent · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as the opponent in the close loss that preceded the press conference, providing game context.
    Jones and Liam Cohen from the Jacksonville Jaguars after the Jaguars lost a very close one to the Buffalo Bills yesterday.

Concepts & topics

  • Press Conference Ethics — Concept · Core topic / analytical lens · 2 mentions · first at
    The episode centers on norms like non-cheering, objectivity, and credential codes of conduct, debating whether Lynn Jones' comments fit professional expectations.
  • Sports Journalism — Concept · Core topic · 18 mentions
    The host contrasts beat reporting, press conferences, and TV 'entertainment' roles to explain why the viral moment triggered criticism among journalists.
    I have been covering sports... for three decades.
  • Black Press — Concept · Core topic / advocacy focus · 7 mentions · first at
    Framed as historically vital for Black communities and endangered by media industry changes; the host and Lynn Jones explicitly urge support.
    For a very long time. The Jacksonville free press is a community newspaper. It is one of the few black press publications still in existence and that is a rarity in these days.…
  • Community Journalism — Concept · Core topic / contextual justification · 1 mention · first at
    Used to explain why a community paper may have a different relationship with teams and audiences than national outlets, changing how the exchange is interpreted.

Places & events

  • NAACP Image Award — Event · Host announcement / milestone · 1 mention · first at
    The host announces his podcast 'Politics' was nominated, contextualizing his current work and audience support.
  • East Lansing — Place · Host beat-reporting setting · 2 mentions
    Cited as the college-town environment that intensified closeness to sources while covering Michigan State.
    When you're in a college town... I was in East Lancing.
  • Orlando — Place · Host career move reference · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as where the host moved for a job, part of his career narrative about leaving the Michigan State beat.
    Left to cover another job before I took this other job, I left Detroit to go to Orlando to cover to be a sports columnist.

Full transcript with timestamps

Hey, what's good everybody? Um, joining you here on Monday. Didn't expect to be joining you at all today, but you know, I tend to do these things very sporadically or reacting and responding to what is the news. And so today I wanted to make sure that I jumped on this live because um I'm sure or maybe you have heard by now about this viral moment or controversy involving the Jacksonville free press reporter Lynn Jones. I had some thoughts to share about that which I shared I made a mistake of sharing on X. We'll get to that in a moment. And of course a lot of reporters chimed in. I also have some we can also hear from Lynn Jones directly herself. Um but in the me meantime um to start things off I just want to uh thank you all for your support encouraging you to like and subscribe as always to this channel and I appreciate everything you guys have done in terms of of of holding me up. If

I sound my voice sounds a little weird, it's just because I am battling right now a little bit of a cold, the flu, whatever you want to call it. There's something going around because a lot of people have it right now. I'm not the only one, but I'm battling that. Uh, but anyway, let me just uh jump right in it. Um, as I mentioned, there was a viral moment that many of you guys saw that uh between Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jo Lynn Jones and Jacksonville's coach Liam Cole uh that went viral and I first saw it on X because Adam Shaper tweeted it out otherwise I'll be honest, I probably would not have paid attention to it otherwise and it drew a very strong divided reaction among the media. I think there was a much different reaction from the fans which I will get into but for the moment uh just to set the trade for this conversation. This is the exchange that went viral again between a Jacksonville

longtime Jacksonville reporter Lynn Jones and Liam Cohen from the Jacksonville Jaguars after the Jaguars lost a very close one to the Buffalo Bills yesterday.

Want to tell you congratulations on your success young man. You hold your head up. All right. You guys have had a most magnificent season and you did a great job out there today. So, you just hold your head up. Okay. And ladies and gentlemen, Duvall, you the one. All right. You keep it going. We got another season. Okay. Take care and much continued success to you and the entire team.

Thank you, ma'am. Okay. So, that was the exchange between Lynn Jones and Liam Cohen. uh more like her obviously giving him a little pep talk after what was a close loss and what has been I think a successful season for for J for the Jaguars. They took a step forward. They hosted a home playoff game. They played the Bills. We know um you know kind of obviously we see how their season ended and there were going to be questions about Trevor Lawrence and whether or not he is the quarterback that can take Jacksonville or continue Jacksonville in this direction. uh but but at least by my by from my accounts um it seems like uh that they are headed in the right direction. Okay. Now I have been covering sports at every level for three decades and I have to say that in my time and covering sports and being in many of these press conferences I have never quite seen that. I well I have never let me not say never. What I

would say is this is typically these press conferences particularly postgame are very high pressure environments because a lot of people are on deadline. We have a very short limited amount of time to ask coaches players questions. In some cases with some teams they have the coach and the players available at the same time. So you're really kind of scrambling. you often have to make a choice between am I going to talk to the coach or am I going to talk to players or you might even be able to jockey back and forth between both. And so it's a it's a stressful environment for a lot of reporters. Now, there was nothing wrong with what she said, but I think what is very clear in having these conversations out loud in the media is that because the public doesn't really understand the nature of our jobs that the people that were critical of this, and I was one of them, the people that were critical of this,

for you all who are watching it, you don't see it the same way that we do because frankly why would you you know you don't you're not in press conferences you don't you know and I'm not saying that in a in a negative way and I'm not saying that in an arrogant way but for fans absorbing what they saw they saw this as a nice and kind moment and even Adam Shfter himself because he when he tweeted this out he his take on it was take a look at this very sweet moment between this reporter and this head coach all right um And I know for a lot of you, you all feel just like this person right here, uh, IMAX. I don't think she said anything wrong. Nice to see compassion from a journalist.

Here's where it gets tricky for us. And I'm not saying that it's right or wrong. I can tell you how I was raised as a journalist in this business. Number one rule that you hear when you first start going to press conferences and first start covering teams is you are not a fan. You are not someone who is an extension of the team. Your job is not to be a fan. Your job is not to cheerleader, cheerlead. Your job is not to berate. Your job is not to console. Your job is to observe, put into context, tell people why things happen, get information. That is what your job is. We have been told this literally from the time that we start picking up a notepad. I [clears throat] know people don't do that anymore because everybody has a tape recorder or they have a phone. So, they pick up one of these. We have been schooled that into our brains.

We are not fans. And I know some of you are like, well, if you're not a fan, why would you be a journalist? You could be a fan of sport. You could be a fan of telling stories. You could be a fan of generally we have a proclivity for understanding what is news and wanting to bring people the story, wanting to put into context what the story is. And so this is one of those cases where, and I'm guilty of this, we didn't read the room. And as much as we like to cling to our professional jobs and our professional ethics because our ethics do not call for us to do this, for a lot of people, they responded very humanely to us to this. Most of us in journalism did not because for us, this is it was the setting. It was the timing and generally speaking in a postgame press conference that is typically not the place where one would do this. Now if Lyn Jones I'm not trying to tell her how to do her job but just

giving a hypothetical if she would have pulled the Jacksonville coach to the side and said hey you had a great season coach keep your head up. Du ball is behind you blah blah blah blah blah. Then it would have been like okay all right I got it understood. Most of us probably wouldn't have done that because again we don't really um see ourselves that way. But here's the difference. I think there is a difference in the type of outlet and relationship with team. Lyn Jones has been covering this thing for a very long time. The Jacksonville free press is a community newspaper. It is um one of the few black press publications still in existence and that is a rarity in these days. So when you have that kind of community relationship, it is different than the relationship you would have if you were at a ESPN or I am at the Atlantic or any of these national publications. Your job is to kind of come in and come out. And

that's far as you know, you're just there to cover the story, cover the game, cover what happens, and that is it, right? So it's a much more transactional relationship as are much as are most journalism interactions in sports or politics or whatever you want to have you. It's very transactional. Okay. And so again truly we never see the function of our jobs as doing something like that. And the reason that we don't it's not that journalism or journalists don't possess compassion. Compassionate moments actually happen quite a lot especially if you are covering a team um and covering people that you see day in and day out. You learn about their kids.

You learn about their family situations. You learn about different things that happen in their lives. When I covered Michigan State, I covered them for six years. There was a lot that I learned about individual players, a lot of things that they went through, coaches, that sort of thing. In fact, when I left Michigan State, I would never forget this. Uh, and I told Tom Iso, "Hey, I'm leaving. I'm taking another job. It's been a pleasure to cover you." This is a conversation that we had off air. I mean, obviously not in front of everybody and um not at a press conference. So, um, at any rate, uh, what I told him, you know, I told him that, yeah, you know, I really thanked him, um, for how he was to me from a professional standpoint and, you know, sort of welcoming me in, if you will, um, into sort of the the tribe that covered Michigan State. We had a good relationship. We did have some ups and

downs at times. There were times where he was not very happy with some things that I wrote in my coverage and that kind of thing. Um, and so, uh, yeah, so that was the relationship. But, however, when I left, I remember this, it was my last practice that I covered at Michigan State. And he had the team do, um, some clap that they always do, and they saluted me and sort of serenated me off, not by singing, but just saying, "Hey, we wish you well. You know, thanks for the job that you did and covering us, blah, blah, blah." ISO even invited me to his house for dinner. And uh it was funny cuz he has like this amazing I don't know if he still has it but in his basement is not a drinker. He doesn't drink but he um but people send him things and people send him beer. So he has beers from all around the world. He was like hey go down to my beer fridge.

Pick whatever beers you like. I have beers from like literally every corner of this earth. So I did that. We had a great you know dinner. I had known his family forever because when I was a student I covered sports. And so I remember when I Iso um was an assistant coach. So like we went back a long way. So there was a relationship there and you know in the context of how we cover sports that is something that uh technically is not supposed to be done but this is on my personal time. I'm leaving. I'm no longer covering the beat. So at that point it's like all right I don't really have anything any kind of professional or ethical standard that I need to adhere to because I am leaving. I'm no longer covering this team. And regardless if I left to cover another job before I took this other job, I left Detroit to go to Orlando to cover um um to be a sports columnist.

But if I hadn't taken that job, one of the things that I talked to my bosses about in Detroit was that I wanted to get off the Michigan State beat. The big reason I wanted to get off the Michigan State beat was because I felt like I was getting too close to the people I was covering. That's what happens when you're covering the same group of people, the same program for six years. And when you're in a college town, which is already small, I was in East Lancing. I certainly gone to school there. I just felt like it was going to compromise my objectivity at some point. So, I wanted off the beat anyway, even if I didn't go to Orlando. So, let me bring it on back to Lean Jones. And so I'm not saying anything about her professional ethics, but what I am saying is that part of the reason we have to keep this separation is because that can happen and where you and I know plenty of reporters, we all

do know a lot of reporters who are compromised by the people that they cover because they developed a close relationship. One thing that I remember Stephen A. Smith saying a long time ago because him and Allan Iverson had developed a personal relationship was that he was going to stop covering him because they developed a personal relationship. And so um so yeah, it's a little different. Um, when you start to feel yourself getting closer to your sources and it becoming like that, a good thing to do sometimes is to separate yourself because for as much as the praise that you may give a team or as much as when things are going well, there's going to come times and moments where you have to ask them tough and challenging questions. And I have definitely had the experience, definitely had the experience where there are people I had a rapport with and when it was time for me to ask a tough question, they were like, "Oh,"

they were confused. They were like, "But I but I thought I thought you you were on the team or I thought you you know were supposed to just give me positive press." That is why you keep that separation and why maybe in this moment some of us are thinking so much about that separation and not about the moment that's actually happening. So here was some of the responses um to that some of those by people I know. Uh I don't know Graham Couch personally but I know the publication he works for. I think we met a couple times. Again I said Adam Shfter was the one who tweeted us out. Shfter's original tweet was, "This is an awesome postgame exchange between a reporter and Jacksonville or Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen. Graham couch that Shfter thinks this is awesome. Is reason to question the judgment on everything he does professionally, never mind the other gals. Harsh uh this is from Ian Begley, also another

reporter. Very nice exchange. wouldn't call it an exchange between a reporter and the coach, though uplifting the head coach after a loss is not part of a sports reporter's job. It's true. It's not. All right. Um, and uh, this one from Brooke Prior. Look, it's a kind sentiment, but it's not the job of a reporter to console a coach in a postgame press conference. Pressors are to ask questions, to gain a better understanding of what happened, to figure out what's next, and do it in a very limited amount of time. As I said, these are high stress environment. So, here's why I'm adding the context is that I want to say first of all, I honestly and I think I missed the first part of the audio of when she identified herself. So, I don't know how I missed that part. So, honestly, when I heard the exchange, I really thought it was somebody's relative in there. I was like, is that a relative of a player in

there? because I never seen somebody in postgame give a coach a pep talk. I was like, "Oh, that must be somebody related to players like that. That must be who that is." So, um uh y'all have to excuse my phone just rang. Um so, that is what I originally thought. And so, my tweet was awesome isn't the word. Um I was like, "Is that a reporter? If so, awesome isn't the word I would use." The word I would have used was strange because that is a strange exchange that you do not normally see inside of a press conference. And this is something my former colleague Stan Veretta alluded to. I think if the report in Jacksonville has said, "Coach, I'm glad your team um I'm glad your team lost and I don't think you're the right coach and they will probably continue to lose.

Can't wait for you to leave Duvall." Almost anyone would understand it was wrong. It was the wrong setting for that. What she said was sweet, endearing, and positive. It was still outside of the professional norms. And it is. I mean, listen, it could be sweet and outside the of the professional norms. I am not here to disparrage Len Jones. Um, in fact, I'm here to offer an apology to Lynn Jones because the mistake I made is that I needed better context for this. Again, she's been covering Jacksonville. She's at a community newspaper. community newspapers have different relationships to the things that they cover. Um, and understanding that relationship, I realize that you can't put everything in the same box. Even though for young people out there who might be considering this career path in journalism, respectfully, you are not supposed to do that. That is not supposed to happen in press

conferences. Again, you're not there to be a fan. You're there to report blah blah blah blah blah. And so, um, uh, and I'm gonna answer this question too from you, uh, TZ 1000, about who made these guard rails for these pressers. By the way, just real quick, what you should know is that on the back of a lot of NFL credentials, pretty much all of them, any professional league, NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, doesn't matter, there is a code of conduct on the back. And so, this whole you don't cheer in the press box, is not something that reporters just came up. The leagues have that, too. Because the leagues also, they don't want if you are, let's say you um, you know, grew up in Kansas City and you covering the Raiders, they want some some semblance of, hey, despite your maybe your if you have some allegiances that we don't know about or whatever, you can't come in here and be rooting and cheering because it's

disruptive. And I have been in press boxes where I have literally seen reporters from hometown newspapers, usually smaller publications, who have been in there like, "Yes, cheer." Not supposed to do that because it's disruptive to the professional environment. So, the guard rails are put in place with the idea of trying to have some semblance of unbiased and objectivity in your reporting. um at least to the point where the people that you even cover won't be thinking like this person don't like me because they grew up a fan of this team or because they grew up a fan of this player. This is a true story of something that happens to me. Um and and okay, real quick before I get to that story, I'm glad you said that. That's why I said I'm going to apologize to Miss Lynn because commu I didn't realize again I did not hear her identify herself in the clip that I heard.

Community newspapers completely have a different relationship to what they cover than say ESPN, The Atlantic, the bigger publications and even the bigger publication in that city that city even the local Jacksonville daily newspaper. Community newspapers are completely different. So within the scope of community news, this exchange made a lot of sense. Um so anyway, this is a true story of something that happened to me early in my career. And we talk about the guard rails in press conferences, right? And about why these guard rails and why these sorts of professional ethics exist.

And that is uh I was it was early in my career. I was still in college. I was a freelance reporter for the Lancing State Journal, um, which is the big paper in Lancing, Michigan, which is where Michigan State is. It's the capital of Michigan. So I was, uh, a reporter. Um, and so I'm, you know, I'm from Detroit. Uh, actually I wasn't a reporter yet at at Lancing yet. I'm, let me take that back. Let me make sure, let me clean the story up to make sure I get all the details right. I was actually a college reporter working for the State News, which is Michigan State's um uh college newspaper. And I grew up in Detroit and realized I grew up in Detroit in the early 90s. Who was big in the early 90s? The Fab Five. So I actually sort of grew up a Michigan fan because everybody was Michigan fans during that time. And so I had Michigan paraphernalia when I went to Michigan State. And I didn't really think anything of it because the

reason I went to Michigan State and just so you know, I did get into University of Michigan, but I went to Michigan State because Michigan State had the better journalism program. So I truly went there for academics and for journalism. And so I am covering sports. This is maybe I think this is my freshman or sophomore year. It's early in my time at Michigan State. I go to cover I think it was a Michigan State women's basketball game that I had to cover um or I had to cover the practice or and and the coach was going to be available afterwards and I had to write a story. I wore Michigan paraphernalia to cover this coach's press availability now because I was young and stupid. I did not realize how that would look to the coach. Here I am, a reporter, supposedly unbiased, covering her, and I am wearing apparel from her biggest rival.

And I was wondering when I asked my question why the coach was looking at me like she could have murdered me on the spot. Like, if looks could kill, my obituary would have been written that day. That's how that's how it was. And I was like, "Wow, why why am I getting this energy from this coach?" Because to me, I just put on a Michigan shirt and I didn't even think about it and just went off on my way and had on some jeans and just dressed like any other college kid. And so afterwards, a reporter who worked for the Lansancy State Journal. And uh it was another female reporter, Joanne Gersonner, who is now a professor at Michigan State in the journalism department. Joanne pulled me aside afterwards and said, "You cannot wear that. you can never wear Michigan apparel to cover Michigan State events.

And she gave me the entire speech about these guard rails that some of you may think is silly. And I got it. I was like, you're right. Again, I'm a young reporter. I don't know any better. And so we had a entire conversation about decorum and about how as journalism, as journalists, we are not to appear as fans. And so I was like message receive because again it's about and you know that was probably a pretty egregious example but it's about what you're communicating to the people you cover and frankly even the people who are reading you or watching you. If they think that you're a fan of the rival of the team that they cheer for then they're going to take all your coverage and everything you have to say with them with a grain of salt. They're going to be like I don't really believe it. um you know I they like that person you know and listen I'm not oblivious to the fact that in this day and age that those

lines are blurred even more because of social media because of the fact that when you look at an outlet like ESPN and you see personalities obviously rooting for certain teams and some of it is done in just and just for entertainment like for example Stephen A. Smith and the Cowboys, right? I don't think um that Stephen A. Smith hates the Cowboys as much as he gives off, but it's become an entertainment vehicle for him to pretend like uh that he hates the Cowboys as much as he does. Like that's part of the stick, so to speak. And so for somebody watching, they're like, "Wait a minute, he considers himself a journalist, but he's actively rooting against this team. Like what's up with that?" And so it's just I understand like for fans who are watching why they may look at this and say like hold up y'all not supposed to be fans but yet I see this this and this because the lines are very blurry in our profession right

now. So I completely get it and I understand why that would create some confusion. Um so he roots against you know the Cowboys as many of you have pointed out in the chat. He also actively roots for the Steelers actively roots for Alabama. But here's something that I did once I made the switch to TV. And this was particularly applicable to when Michael Smith and I did his and hers is both of us were print reporters just like Stephen A was. Both of us came up covering press conferences, locker rooms, that kind of thing. And you know, we understood the function of what our job was in that role. And we also understood what other journalists go through in covering these teams. like they have to be accountable for what they write and what they say in a way that we do not cuz we're sitting there in a cushy studio. Our opinions are flying fast and loose. We get to say whatever the hell we want to. All right.

And so um so yeah, we I got it. And um we understood that once we made the switch to daily television and doing his and hers that our hats as journalists were kind of gone at that point. We are entertainers. And so we used to jokingly say on the show all the time, we are former journalists. And there was a reason for that because we understood what we were doing now sitting talking to you on TV is not the same as what the reporters who are covering teams day in and day out are doing. And so um there has to be these lines that are there.

And maybe to you guys they seem very silly and they seem like well why you know why this you know you guys are taking yourself too seriously and you know this and that and I get it like I I know the media can come off as arrogant as being blowhards. I saw what um Pat McAfee had to say when he said that it's because most of us alone, you know, painting the picture of the miserable sports writer is such a easy lazy trope. And with all due respect uh to to Pat McAfee, I have no problem with his success whatsoever. But like Pat McAfei is not a journalist. All right? So like he can sit there and play the role of entertainer and do these things and and that's fine. And I don't begrudge his role in doing that, but I think especially because people have called out called him out about his lack of journalism that he probably feels a way against sports writers in particular. Um I don't really because I don't see him

as a journalist. I don't have any expectations of Pat Becky to behave like a journalist. He is supposed to behave like an entertainer because that is what he is. That's not a negative. That's not a knock. It is what I consider him to be. Um, you know, and so, yeah, I get it. Uh, y'all got to spell my name right, ladies and gentlemen. Please, it's Jamal. Uh, maybe everything, every response do not warrant a beatdown. Maybe silence could have been an option. Silence could have been an option. You're right. But here's why I'm glad silence was not chosen by me. All right. So now that we are having this conversation about media ethics, press conference, decorum, blah blah blah blah blah, all of those things, I would like to implore you all to do what I just did about 30 minutes ago. And that is I went to let me let me share the screen.

I went to the Jacksonville Free Presses website because again, as I mentioned, um that this is one of the few black newspapers still in existence. Um the black press and the eradication of the black press has been particularly it has been very um it's been difficult to watch. I mean, some of it is just basically technology. A lot of people aren't reading newspapers anymore. And I don't mean like the physical time because a lot of people have stopped printing, but just in general, a lot of people are not relying on their no local newspaper as a source of information.

And the black press for a long time was a lifeblood for black people in this country. It was the only place where we can find out about our news, our community, and about how issues, wider issues happening in our society were impacting us. It's the only place we were written about. It was the only place we were celebrated. The black press has had a special a special relationship and a special place in our community's heart. Definitely. So, what I did was I went to the Jacksonville Free Press and I subscribed. So, if you go there, y'all see it up there. There is a It should be somewhere up there. Okay, you you can see it. Y'all are functioning human beings. Y'all know how to find a subscription button. I went there. I subscribed for a year. It's 58 bucks.

You I think you have different tiers. You don't have to subscribe for a year. I also made sure that I follow the Jacksonville Free Press across their social media platforms. So the way since we're going to have all this discourse and I would say that not just for the public honestly I would say that to my media members if we all have been local reporters before we know the challenges that local news is facing in this moment. It is a lot of challenges. Um there have been a lot of jobs lost at the local level. Um, not just because people aren't reading anymore, but because people don't see the relevance and they don't see the importance of local news.

CNN is only going to come in every now and again. What matters is how your local newspaper and your local TV stations and your local news outlets, how they cover their community cuz they're right there. So, um, I think what we should all do is make sure we follow, if you don't have the money for it, fine. Just follow them on their platforms. A follow cost you nothing. Follow Jacksonville. Subscribe to their paper. And to Miss Lynn Jones, I want to say to you personally, I was not coming for you. And if you in any way interpreted what I said as disrespectful, let me say that is not the case at all. Um, I commend you for being in that community, for representing that community the way that you have admirably and impeccably for as long as you have done it. And so, um, yeah, I I'm sorry. And especially because, you know, as a black woman in this business, I know how difficult it is. And the last thing that I want to do

is uh join any kind of brigade that makes our jobs and our lives tougher. And then there's just the general respect that one has um for those who have been in the game longer. And you've been in the game longer than me. So, automatic respect given, not a word to be said. Um, and speaking of Lynn Jones, uh, I don't think I played what she had to say about all this. So, let me play that right now so y'all can hear her reaction

in on this. And he said nothing awesome about this. Called you fake media. Said that you shouldn't even have been up there asking those kind of questions. So, were when you heard that, how did that make you feel?

I really I don't take no uh offense to it. Listen, I've been in this business more than 25 years. I've interviewed from Barack Obama to Terry Bradshaw to what's my guy name? Tiger Wood. So, he can say whatever he want about fake news. I am a member of the Black Press, NNPA, the National Newspaper Association that's been around more than 100 years.

I'm the associate editor of the Jacksonville Free Press, one of the more than 230 African-American newspapers still printing in this country today. In Jacksonville, you had the uh Florida Star since 1955. We've been around since 1986 in Philadelphia. The Tribune, the Philly Trabune has been printing since 1884. In my hometown of Detroit, the Michigan Chronicle has been printing since 1935. So, support the black press. So, you can call me fake all you want to, honey. I've been doing this. Let me tell you something.

And that's that on that. and uh very proud that she is representing my home city which is Detroit and the Michigan Chronicle, a paper I grew up reading, a paper I've been featured in many, many, many, many times. So, shout out to you, Miss Lynn Jones. Again, I'm apologizing. Uh thank you for getting us all together with what you said right there. And um you know one thing I I I would add to this is that while I do stand on what I said just in the sense of like I do think that there needs to be some separation um between as they say church and state is like it isn't really our jobs to do that. Uh I do understand in this moment and in this context this was a little different and so that's fine too. And one thing that I never wanted to be accused of, especially being a journalist and a reporter, part of being a journalist and a reporter, is learning. These right here, those are your two best assets is listening. And

so I heard what y'all had to say. Y'all came for me. Y'all done called me, by the way, y'all called me about 8,000 sellouts in like the span of 12 hours, which is once again, we back to this conversation, which I had previously, is like black people in disagreement. That can't be the go-to punch all the time. And then especially for some of y'all to accuse me me of all people of coming for black women. Come on now. Come on now. Come on now. All right. That ain't even that ain't never been me ever in my entire life career. Ever ever ever ever ever been me. You know, making me seem like I'm some hanky head out here, man. Y'all got to get serious with that.

Anyway, so um what I would say is to Lynn Jones and to the Jacksonville Free Press, I hope you guys get a ton more publicity and that you use this publicity to bring attention to the wonderful product that you have and to, as Lynn mentioned, to the black press in general, which still remains a vital part of our communities. Um but we haven't had uh you know the support needs to be there especially in this media age which is rapidly changing all the time. Um going to ask answer this question. Did you feel the same way during the Browns presser? By the way you guys keep bringing up this Brown presser. Like let's I got to be totally honest. I don't watch Browns pressers.

Most of us don't. The only reason I knew about this one was because Adam Sheper tweeted it out. Otherwise I wouldn't have known anything. That being said I saw that Browns presser. I don't have the video of it, but it was another reporter. I would call that I mean that reporter I don't know. I would put reporter in quotes. Highly unprofessional. And the other thing I should mention too is that depending on the team and this is up to the team in many respects. As I said, on the back of those credentials, they do have a code of conduct that's on them. Is that teams can uh they can take away your credential over what they deem to be unprofessional behavior. What that reporter did, and you guys can go find a video, I would say was way worse than anything that we saw from Lyn Lyn Jones. Most of us did not know about it because it's the Browns. So there you that there's your answer. So yeah, I think if most of us would have

seen that, we would have clowned that man and drugg him from here to there. So it's there is certainly no double standard in what the reaction would have been. It's just most of us didn't even know about it. That was the difference. Um okay. Uh is this Browns person? Did you Did y'all even know about that? No, I didn't. That's the point. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT BEFORE SOMEBODY BROUGHT IT UP ON TWITTER. HAD NO CLUE. I was like, "Oh, this happened. Didn't know." And from what I understand, and this is probably another reason why that person escaped a lot of the scrutiny and judgment that should have rightfully come for them is because I think it happened I was told it happened midweek and not at the ends of games. At the end of games, there tend to be more media and those tends to be those tend to be the press conferences shown. You know, they have press conferences during the week.

Unless some news breaks or unless somebody who's really important speaks, most of us don't, you know, we're not going to from far away, we're not going to see that uh typically, but because this didn't happen on game day, I think that's why that escaped a lot of maybe some of the sentiment that we're seeing now. Um, so anyway, those are my thoughts on that. I thought I would clear that up because the thing is when you start doing back and forths on social media, it's like you get nowhere. And another thing some of my journalism friends have brought up to me because we've been all texting about this privately. And I'll be very specific, black journalists, we have been texting about this privately, uh, is there are some conversations that we have in our profession that don't need to go outside the profession.

It's not because there's some layer of secrecy. It's mostly because we know that most people do not understand what our jobs are. And so when you're trying to have those kind of conversations with people who don't really understand what the job is anyway, you know, a lot of you guys just generally think we're in privileged positions because we get to cover sports for a living. I won't pretend that it's the same as covering, you know, we're not saving babies from burning buildings, but we are people who take our jobs seriously because this is what we dedicated our life to do and this is how we feed our families. This is how we make a living for ourselves. So naturally, there's a level of seriousness that we have that comes from that. But there are just certain nuances of this job that we can never explain and that you all wouldn't get anyway. And I'm not saying that you should and you're not going to have much

empathy for it. It's kind of like when the you hear the celebrity complain about the cost of fame because at the end of the day, no matter how much that celebrity and they could be right in what they saying like, "Hey man, it kind of sucks that I can never finish a meal with my family because somebody's always asking for my autograph or that people are always intruding on my personal space." They understand that that's part of the game. And when they complain about it, they are usually people the first thing they say, "Okay, that's fine, but you get to be rich and there's no sympathy there." So I understand that people will never have sympathy for journalists because that's just the way it is and this is the life that we've chosen to quote my man from the Godfather. Uh and we just have to be okay with that. So, some of these conver we probably would have done our profession a disservice um or done our

profession of service by like not belaboring this at all. And even though I know I just did a whole live on it, which is some level of belaboring, I did it more out of explanation and mostly really not out of explanation, but mostly so I can offer a public apology to Lynn Jones and to encourage you all to support the Jacksonville free press because that is the main thing and main takeaway I want from this. Support the black press. support the Jacksonville free press in particular. All right, so uh that is it for me. Um I am uh you know I it's it's funny. Oh, real quick before I go and again uh click and subscribe. Really appreciate that. I also want to make a little bit of an an announcement um since uh I have you all's attention and the announcement I would love to make or am making in this moment is that uh it's politics my podcast has been nominated for NAACP Image Award. I'm very excited about this

for most outstanding podcast. I found out uh from the president of the NAACP uh Darren Johnson. Uh he told me a couple of days ago I was super excited. Politics has been a labor of love. It was something I was very passionate about. You all through your support, through your interest, through your conversation allows politics to be put into the position to be nominated for Image Award. I've already as I look up to my because I have my image awards over there. I have won uh two of them. I won them for uh Jamal Hill is Unbothered. And so this is an opportunity for me to add a third. And I just want to thank you all for your support. Um thank you all for your encouragement. Really appreciate it and for just hanging in there with me.

Listen, we not going to always agree because if y'all agree with me 100% of the time, y'all would be crazy. I would really worry about you and I'd say go see them people for sure. But do know that what I say always comes from an authentic place, a real place, a genuine place, and a place of love for my people, a thousand%. And that's not to say I only talk about black people. Clearly, I don't. But my first and foremost concern is black people. And so that will always be centered in everything that I do and how I talk about things. And so there is no scenario in which I would turn my back on this community. None.

constructive criticism may come from me. Yes, y'all may hate me for it. I get it. We going to fall out sometimes. But do know where it is coming from. Um that is always coming from a place of love and liberation. So, with that, I bid y'all to do I'll join y'all soon because the one thing I didn't get to talk about and uh I got a busy day tomorrow, but probably later on this week, we're going to have to have a conversation, the team conversation about Donald Trump's latest comments in which he said that the civil rights movement, y'all go look it up, read, and then we'll rejoin and have a discussion about it. In which he said that the civil rights movement was very bad for white people. Yeah, he really said that. No, I'm not making it up. No, it's not hyperbole. He said it to the New York Times. We'll discuss that on the next Politics Live. Until then, y'all be easy, y'all be safe, y'all be

black, and y'all be free. Talk to y'all soon.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter"?

Jemele Hill (Host), Lynn Jones (Guest).

What is "Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter" about?

Jemele Hill addresses the controversy surrounding Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jones' interaction with Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Cohen, which gained significant attention on social media. She reflects on the divided reactions from media and fans and shares her own thoughts, acknowledging her initial mistake in commenting on the situation.

What is mentioned in this Jemele Hill episode?

25 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Lynn Jones, Jacksonville Free Press, Jamal Hill, Press Conference Ethics, Sports Journalism, Black Press. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Jemele Responds To Being Dragged For Comments About Jacksonville Reporter"?

The episode runs 42 min; the transcript is about 7,762 words in 53 timestamped sections.

More from Jemele Hill

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.