ESPN anchor Sage Steele is suing the network after claiming it curtailed her right to free speech over remarks she made last year.
Steele attracted criticism after remarks she made on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler last September. During her appearance, the SportsCenter host called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick”, said female reporters should change the way they dress to avoid inappropriate comments from male athletes and questioned whether Barack Obama is Black.
“If they make you choose a race, what are you gonna put? Well, both,” Steele, who is biracial, said at the time. “Barack Obama chose Black, and he’s biracial … congratulations to the President, that’s his thing. I think that’s fascinating considering his Black dad is nowhere to be found but his white mom and grandma raised him, but OK. You do you. I’m gonna do me. Listen, I’m pretty sure my white mom was there when I was born. And my white family loves me as much as my Black family.”
Former ESPN journalist Jemele Hill was among those who attacked Steele for the remarks, calling her a “clown”. Steele was given a short suspension from the network and issued an apology at the time. “We are in the midst of an extremely challenging time that impacts all of us, and its more critical than ever that we communicate constructively and thoughtfully,” she wrote.
However in the lawsuit, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the 49-year-old says ESPN reduced her role at the network in retaliation, failed to prevent her being bullied by colleagues and had curtailed her free speech. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, also accuses ESPN of failing to take Steele’s comments in context.
In a statement to the Journal on Wednesday, ESPN pointed to recent prominent roles assigned to Steele. “Sage remains a valued contributor on some of ESPN’s highest profile content, including the recent Masters telecasts and anchoring our noon SportsCenter,” the network said.
ESPN has dealt with a number of issues around its staff in recent years. Hill left the network to join the Atlantic in 2018 after she called Donald Trump a “white supremacist” and criticized the Dallas Cowboys for threatening to punish players who knelt for the national anthem.
