Sage Steele Exits ESPN After Settling Lawsuit “To Exercise My First Amendment Rights More Freely” — Update
deadline.comUPDATED, 7:30 AM: Longtime SportsCenter co-anchor Sage Steele has decided to leave ESPN after settling her lawsuit against ESPN/Disney.“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele revealed Tuesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”Steele sued ESPN and corporate parent Disney in April 2022 for allegedly violating both her contract ad free speech rights.
In her lawsuit, Steele alleged she had been “sidelined” by the network in 2021 after she made controversial remarks about ESPN’s Covid policy and former President Barack Obama’s ethnic identity, questioning the fact the Obama identifies as Black, given the circumstances of his upbringing.
Steele’s announcement comes as ESPN has been working to cut costs and has laid off some 20 on-air personalities including NBA game analyst Jeff Van Gundy and studio co-host Jalen Rose.RELATED: ESPN Layoffs: Here’s The Updated List Of On-Air Talent Who Were Let GoLife update.
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