Sage Steele is not feeling her employer, ESPN.
After a controversial appearance on a Jay Cutler podcast last year, Steele has felt her role diminished on the network, and now she is taking her claims to court.
It was only 15 years ago when Sage first debuted on SportsCenter and began hosting NBA Countdown on ESPN and then ABC. Her accolades and credentials are not to be trifled with, nor is her American pedigree – the daughter of Gary Steele, the first brother to play varsity football for Army, and Mona, a woman of Irish/Italian descent.
However, despite having the DNA of three groups of people who have faced discrimination in this country at some point in history, Steele has a very loose, palsy-palmed approach to grasping issues of racial and ethnic sensitivity. She constantly reminds us that every Black or Brown face doesn’t necessarily know what it is to be Black or Brown in America.
The SportsCenter anchor is now suing ESPN and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., on grounds of breaching her contract and violating her freedom of speech. She also claims to be sidelined for premium on-air assignments while only anchoring ESPN’s noon “SportsCenter” broadcast.
A New View
Steele appeared on former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler’s “UnCut” podcast and discussed what happened on an episode of “The View.” The anchor has co-hosted the panel show multiple times.
Steele described to Cutler during the Sept. 29 podcast episode what she remembered about one of her guest host appearances on “The View.” She said Barbara Walters ripped into her on live TV about being biracial instead of Black. Steele recounted to Cutler what she says happened during her exchange with Walters on “The View”:
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