Sage Steele Sues ESPN and Disney for Violation of Free Speech

Sage Steele is at odds with her employer. The Wall Street Journal notes the SportsCenter anchor is suing ESPN and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., after being forced into an apology for her comments regarding COVID-19 and Barack Obama on a podcast appearance.

Steele cites that her contract was breached in the suit, and her free speech was violated for questioning vaccine mandates and Obama’s race while on Uncut with Jay Cutler. During the appearance, Steele also blamed female sports journalists for offensive remarks made about them by athletes because of how they dressed.

After the statements, Steele has continued her position as an anchor for the noon SportsCenter broadcast, but her additional on-air tasks have been limited.

The lawsuit accuses ESPN of not attempting to “stop bullying and harassment by Ms. STeele’s colleagues” and the company “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.”