Arr, Sage Steele be partin' ways with ESPN, yearnin' to 'partake in me First Amendment liberties with greater abandon!'
2023-08-15
Arr, me hearties, tis been revealed that fair maiden Sage Steele hath departed ESPN. Aye, she's settled her lawsuit with the company, and now be seekin' to express her First Amendment rights a wee bit more freely. Yo ho ho!
Sage Steele, a long-time ESPN broadcaster, announced on Tuesday that she has left the company after almost twenty years of service. She revealed that her lawsuit against the company has been settled and that she decided to leave in order to exercise her first amendment rights more freely. Steele expressed gratitude for her experiences at ESPN and expressed excitement for her next chapter.ESPN confirmed the departure in a statement, stating that they had mutually agreed to part ways with Steele and thanked her for her contributions. Steele claimed that the network breached her contract due to its reaction to comments she made in a podcast interview in September 2021. In the interview, she criticized Disney's vaccine mandate and made remarks about former President Obama's racial identity.
In her lawsuit, Steele accused ESPN of selectively enforcing its policy against employees commenting on politics and social issues. She alleged that the network violated her rights to free speech and relied on inaccurate third-party accounts of her comments. Steele had previously apologized for her remarks, but claimed that the apology was forced upon her by the network.
Steele joined ESPN in 2007 after working at Comcast SportsNet. She became a prominent figure on "SportsCenter" and also appeared on "NBA Countdown." Her departure from ESPN marks the end of a significant chapter in her career.