ESPN anchor Sage Steele has been a fixture on the network for 16 years. In her time at ESPN, Steele anchored the network’s flagship program “SportsCenter” as well as covering the NBA, the Masters, and the National Spelling Bee. She co-hosted the Miss America Pageant on ESPN’s sister network ABC and even guest-hosted “The View” on a couple of occasions.
What’s remarkable about Steele in today’s sports media environment is that she’s an unabashed conservative. Her political opinions didn’t have any bearing on her work at ESPN for years, but she appeared on a podcast in 2021 and expressed her opinion on two things: COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the fact that Barack Obama refers to himself as black even though he, like Steele, is biracial.
ESPN suspended her without pay following her podcast appearance and forced her to make a public apology; she claimed the suspension caused her to miss out on some plum assignments. Steele also said that the network shut her out of a special about race because other ESPN personalities “didn’t view her as an authentic voice” on black issues. Last year, she sued ESPN for violating her First Amendment right to free speech.
The suit claimed that ESPN “violated Connecticut law and Steele’s rights to free speech based upon a faulty understanding of her comments and a nonexistent, unenforced workplace policy that serves as nothing more than pretext.”
According to the lawsuit, Steele’s suspension was the result of “inaccurate third-party accounts of Steele’s comments, and that the network did not immediately review the actual comments or the context in which they were made.” Steele’s attorneys also cited the fact that other ESPN personalities have made political statements without repercussions, but of course, we know which side of the aisle those statements came from.
Related: Sage Steele’s Emotional Return to SportsCenter After a Golf Ball Hit Her in the Face
Now she and ESPN have settled the suit, and it marks the beginning of a new chapter for Steele. While there are no public details on the settlement, the network sent a statement to Fox News that said, “ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways. We thank her for her many contributions over the years.”
Steele said a little more on X/Twitter, where she issued what she called a “Life update.”
“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” she posted. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”
There’s no doubt that Steele will land on her feet no matter what her next steps are. She’s a bright and talented broadcaster who has an exciting future ahead, and I’ll be rooting for her to continue to make an impact.
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