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ESPN’s Jemele Hill Faces Backlash For Defending David Tyree’s Anti-Gay-Marriage Remarks

ESPN.com columnist Jemele Hill has come under fire for a recent column she wrote defending former New York Giants receiver David Tyree following his very public tirade against homosexuality and gay marriage.

In a nutshell, Hill argued that Tyree has the right to speak his mind (à la the First Amendment), and that just as the Phoenix Suns‘ Steve Nash and New York Rangers’ Sean Avery weren’t condemned by the media for supporting same-sex marriage in New York, neither should Tyree be criticized for standing with the opposition.

She writes:

This isn’t really about how we individually feel about same-sex marriage. It also isn’t about promoting bigotry, intolerance and disrespect. This is about understanding that speaking out isn’t reserved strictly for those with whom we agree.

This sentiment provoked a response from OutSports’ Cyd Zeigler, Jr., who wrote a retaliatory column in which he questions Hill’s understanding of the First Amendment, maintaining that while it protects against the government taking action against us for our speech, it does not protect anyone from other Americans speaking their mind.

According to Zeigler, Hill implies that because Tyree has “the right” to say what he wants, he cannot be attacked for it.

Well Ms. Hill, I have every right to attack Tyree’s over-stated, unintelligent points. I have every right to provide a response to your poorly written column. And I have every right to point out that Tyree is a hateful homophobe.

There’s so many layers to this debate we don’t know whose side to take — though if Zeigler’s column showed us one thing, it’s that we definitely need to brush up on our U.S. history.