Longtime ESPN host Sage Steele has had some very public legal battles with the network, but it sounds like those battles are over and she’s now leaving the network.
On Tuesday morning, longtime ESPN Sage Steele announced that she was leaving the network after 16 years, claiming that the move is so that she can better
“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 said in a tweet on Tuesday. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”
Steele sued ESPN back in April of 2022, claiming that the network violated her first amendment rights when they removed her from the air for one week in 2021 after she criticized ESPN’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and questioned former President Barack Obama’s decision to call himself black.
Obviously, this is big news in the sports world and plenty of people offered their reactions, with many questioning Steele’s general understanding of how the first amendment works.
Here we go again…
For the millionth time, the 1st Amendment protects you from the government interfering with your rights to free speech, a free press, choosing a religion, and to peaceably assemble.
ESPN/Disney is not the government. https://t.co/YFGM5FKO7C
— Sam Franco (@samjfranco) August 15, 2023
The next “free thinker” who correctly understands the first amendment will be the first. https://t.co/8jfk64SwB0
— Not A Basketball Fan (@drewhamm5) August 15, 2023
ESPN/Disney are also business owners. https://t.co/iK7dhEj6j8 pic.twitter.com/zNhaHsPAqs
— Strictly 4 My X’ers (@Lizzs_Lockeroom) August 15, 2023
Slowwww fist pump…. https://t.co/R6NAf1XP0h
— Quincy Avery (@QuincyAvery) August 15, 2023
Sage Steele out here confusing first amendment rights (public right) with the constitution right to contract (a private tight) is right on brand for those mentally unmelanated https://t.co/s9uV6pO8sG
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) August 15, 2023
People who complain about their first amendment rights are usually the worst people https://t.co/tnJVJvFSMs
— Charles J. Moore (@charles270) August 15, 2023
ESPN confirmed the news of Steele’s departure in a statement to The Athletic, saying “ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways. We thank her for her many contributions over the years.”
[Sage Steele]
