Jemele Hill: Claim Chris Berman Left ‘Racially Disparaging’ Voicemail is ‘Dangerously Inaccurate’

Admits "personal conflict" with Berman, but says ESPN handled it "swiftly."

Jemele Hill
Jemele Hill. (Jonathan Leibson/BET/Getty Images for BET)

In a discrimination lawsuit Adrienne Lawrence recently filed against her former employer, the ex-ESPN host claimed that former Sportscenter co-host Jemele Hill was the recipient of a “threatening and racially disparaging voicemail” left by longtime employee Chris Berman.

After details of the suit became public and Lawrence’s allegation about Berman began receiving national attention, Hill, who now works for ESPN’s The Undefeated website, responded with a statement on her Twitter account.

In her statement, Hill confirmed she had a “personal conflict” with Berman, but said characterizing it as an issue involving race was “dangerously inaccurate” and said Berman had “never” left the voice mail that was described in Lawrence’s lawsuit.

“Our conflict was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalism.” Hill wrote. “I felt as if my concerns were being taken seriously by ESPN and addressed in a way that made me feel like a valued employee.”

ESPN also issued a statement saying Lawrence’s claims “are entirely without merit” and that the network was “confident” it would prevail in court and planned to “vigorously defend” its position.

Following her original statement, Hill issued a follow-up stating no one at ESPN had asked her to write anything or defend the network.

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