SportsCenter Anchor Sage Steele Exiting ESPN After Settling Lawsuit
SportsCenter co-anchor Sage Steele is exiting ESPN after settling a lawsuit she had brought against the network and its owner, The Walt Disney Company.
"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," Steele wrote in a post to X (fka Twitter) on Tuesday. "I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!"
"ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways. We thank her for her many contributions over the years," the network added in its own statement. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Steele sued ESPN in April 2022 after she had been suspended with pay for comments she'd made on Jay Cutler's Uncut podcast about Disney's COVID vaccine mandate and former President Barack Obama. The lawsuit alleged that ESPN treated Steele with "inconsistency" compared to her peers, and that she was "disciplined by her employer in violation of Connecticut state law because she exercised her First Amendment right to express opinions with which ESPN and Disney do not agree."
During the podcast episode in question, Steele called Disney's vaccine mandate "sick" and "scary to me in many ways." She also criticized Obama for identifying as a Black man despite being raised by his white mother and grandmother.
"I know my recent comments created controversy for the company, and I apologize," Steele said in a statement following her suspension. "We are in the midst of an extremely challenging time that impacts all of us, and it's more critical than ever that we communicate constructively and thoughtfully."
Steele joined ESPN in 2007 and hosted SportsCenter in various capacities during her tenure. She most recently co-anchored the noon edition with Matt Barrie. Her exit comes amid a series of recent layoffs at ESPN; earlier this week, Doc Rivers and Doris Burke were recruited to the network's top NBA broadcast team, replacing the recently departed Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.