White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has slammed ESPN, calling the sports network, “hypocritical.”


White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has slammed ESPN, calling the sports network, “hypocritical.” 
During a press briefing Friday, a reporter asked her about a tweet President Trump had posted earlier that day, stating, “ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!” 
“Trump's tweet appeared to be a response to SportsCenter host Jemele Hill, who on Monday labeled Trump a ‘white supremacist’ in a series of tweets,” USA Today notes. 
In response to the reporter’s question, Sanders said, “I think the point is that ESPN has been hypocritical. They should hold anchors to a fair and consistent standard.”
“ESPN suspended a long-time anchor, Linda Cohn, not too long ago for expressing a political viewpoint. The network’s public editor has said that there is a perception that ESPN has become political and that has harmed the network," Sanders added. "This is clearly a political statement. They should be consistent in whatever guidelines that they have set themselves in that front.” 
CNN says network executives disagree with this account, instead claiming, “Cohn was briefly sidelined -- not formally suspended -- for criticizing ESPN management decisions, not for expressing a political opinion.” 
Sanders also stood by a comment she had made during a press briefing Wednesday when she called Hill’s statements “a fireable offense by ESPN.” 
However, it appears that ESPN is ready to move past the incident.
“The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN," the network said in a statement Tuesday. "We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate.” 
The following day, Hill tweeted her own message.
“My comments on Twitter expressed my personal beliefs. My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light," Hill stated. "My respect for the company and my colleagues remains unconditional.”