Sage Steele Was ‘Scared’ To Work At ESPN After Suspension

Sage Steele appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show Thursday in her first interview since settling a lawsuit with ESPN and parent company Disney for violating Steele’s right to free speech.

Awful Announcing reports Steele joined The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM for a wide-ranging interview that naturally focused on her turbulent breakup with ESPN. Steele’s lawsuit settlement closed a lengthy legal battle with ESPN and Disney which had been ongoing since April 2022, when she alleged her contract was breached and free speech rights were violated.

The longtime SportsCenter anchor sued ESPN after she was suspended for criticizing the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate during a Sept. 2021 appearance on Jay Cutler’s podcast. During the interview with Cutler, Steele called ESPN’s policy “sick and scary,” admitting she reluctantly got vaccinated to keep her job. She also questioned former President Barack Obama identifying as Black when he was raised by his white mother.

ESPN has claimed Steele was never officially suspended, although she was sidelined by the company shortly after her conversation with Cutler. Steele returned to anchoring the noon SportsCenter in Oct. 2021, following a sidelining that she categorizes as a suspension, and a bout with COVID. According to Steele, she was scared to go back.

“I was mad, but more than anything, I was devastated because I had been such a good soldier, such a good employee for 17 years and proud of it,” Steele told Kelly. “I was scared to go back to work when I got off of my suspension. I was so scared. Because I had been made to believe that everybody hated me. And you don’t just walk back in and work, you walk back in and you have to perform on live national television in front of millions of people.”