Now that they’re both free and clear of working at ESPN, former SportsCenter hosts Jemele Hill and Michael Smith may decide to team up again on a new venture.
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Jemele Hill — who currently writes for The Atlantic — said she’d “strongly consider” working again with Smith now that they’ve both reached buyouts with ESPN.
“Mike is one of my dearest friends and I would strongly consider doing anything with him,” Hill said. “He is one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with and our on-air chemistry was unique. Given where we both are, personally and professionally, the timing is potentially perfect.”
Hill and Smith first teamed up at ESPN on the daytime His & Hers show and it was so popular that the network decided to give them a shot at co-anchoring the main edition of SportsCenter each evening. Unfortunately, that plan did not work out and ESPN, after signing both Hill and Smith to lucrative contracts, quickly benched them and went with hosts who ended up bringing in better ratings.
Smith’s buyout from ESPN freed him up to join an LA-based studio startup called (co)laboratory which was founded by The Players’ Tribune co-founder Jaymee Messler.
Messler is also optimistic that a Hill-Smith reunion could be in the cards.
“I know they have a great relationship,” she said. “And I know how much he respects and loves Jemele. So that would be awesome if there was an opportunity for us to work on something together.”
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