Sage Steele Leaves ESPN After Settlement To Exercise “First Amendment Rights More Freely”

SportsCenter co-anchor Sage Steele has announced her departure from ESPN after settling her lawsuit against the network and its corporate parent, The Walt Disney Co.

“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele revealed Tuesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.  I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”

Steele filed a lawsuit in April 2022 against the corporate giants for allegedly violating both her contract ad free speech rights, Deadline reported.

In her lawsuit, Steele alleged she had been “sidelined” by the network in 2021 after making controversial remarks about ESPN’s COVID policy and former President Obama’s ethnic identity. At the time, she questioned Obama identifying as Black due to his upbringing.

Steele’s announcement comes as the network works to cut costs, which included the recent layoffs of some 20 on-air personalities, including NBA game analyst Jeff Van Gundy and studio co-host Jalen Rose.