SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele turned social media upside down on Wednesday when reports surfaced of her suing her employer ESPN and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., after she alleged that the company treated her unfairly for comments she made on a podcast interview last September, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to Steele’s lawsuit, ESPN has “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.”
The ESPN anchor was under fire after appearing on former quarterback Jay Cutler’s podcast, “Uncut with Jay Cutler,” and made concerning comments about the COVID-19 vaccine mandates and made comments about former President Barack Obama identifying as Black instead of biracial.
“I respect everyone’s decision, I really do, but to mandate it is sick,” Steele said. “And it’s scary to me in many ways. But I have a job, a job that I love, and frankly, a job that I need, but again, I love it. I’m not surprised it got to this point, especially with Disney, a global company.”
Following the interview, Steele tested positive for COVID-19, causing her to go off the air while recovering. ESPN required the anchor to issue an apology for her comments.
ESPN responded to Steele’s lawsuit with the following statement: “Sage remains a valued contributor on some of ESPN’s highest-profile content, including the recent Masters telecasts and anchoring our noon SportsCenter. As a point of fact, she was never suspended.”
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The suit also alleges that ESPN failed to “stop bullying and harassment by Ms. Steele’s colleagues,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Steele provided examples of her ESPN coworkers who have not been punished for political statements.
It is unknown what Steele is seeking to recoup in damages in the case.
