Sage Steele leaving ESPN to exercise First Amendment rights ‘more freely’

Longtime ESPN anchor and personality Sage Steele announced she’s leaving the sports network giant for other endeavors, explaining she wants to exercise her First Amendment rights “more freely.” 

“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 Tuesday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Sports media outlet Front Office Sports first reported the news of Steele’s departure. 

“I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!” the longtime “Sportscenter” anchor added. 

“ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways,” an ESPN spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “We thank her for her many contributions over the years.”

Steele, who was with ESPN since 2007, filed a lawsuit against the network and its parent company, Walt Disney, last year over allegations that her free speech rights were violated. Steele alleged the sports media outlet retaliated against her for comments she made in an appearance on the “Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast. 

Steele told Jay Cutler, a former NFL quarterback, that her company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate was “sick,” adding that she finds former President Obama identifying as Black “fascinating” because he was raised by his white mother and grandmother.

In response, ESPN removed Steele from programming for a week over her comments. 

According to Front Office Sports, Steele turned down a $501,000 offer from ESPN to settle her suit earlier this year.

Steele is one of a few sports media personalities in the past years to speak openly about their conservative beliefs. 

Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams made headlines in 2021 when she stepped down from her role with the company over her disagreement with its vaccine mandate. Williams, who later joined conservative media outlet The Daily Wire, filed a lawsuit against her former employer earlier this year, alleging the company terminated her contract after she refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya left her gig with NBC Sports last year to serve as co-chairwoman for Republican Kendall Qualls’s gubernatorial bid in Minnesota. 

— Updated at 5:28 p.m.