ESPN host Sage Steele is reportedly suing the network for violating her free speech rights in retaliation for comments she made on a podcast regarding COVID-19 vaccines and former President Barack Obama, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What’s Happening:
- Back in September of 2021, ESPN host Sage Steele expressed skepticism in a podcast with NFL quarterback Jay Cutler regarding the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, specifically about private companies who required their employees to get vaccinated, saying that the mandate was “sick” and “scary to me in many ways,” also implying that she only complied with such mandates as to keep her job.
- On the same podcast, Steele made comments implying that women bear some responsibility for sexism and sexual harassment, saying “When you dress like that, I’m not saying you deserve the gross comments, but you know what you’re doing when you put that outfit on, too. We need to be responsible as women, too. We know what we’re doing when we put certain things on.”
- Steele also had comments during an interview with Barbara Walters on The View where her biracial identity was brought up by Walters, who asked why she doesn’t just identify as Black like former President Barack Obama, with Steele responding that it was “fascinating” that Obama had chose to identify as Black despite having been raised by his white mother and grandmother, adding “You do you. I’m going to do me.”
- Now, Steele is suing ESPN for violating her free speech rights in retaliation for these comments, arguing that the network and parent company Disney, selectively enforce their policies barring news personnel from commenting on social and political matters based on the popularity of their positions.
- A complaint was filed on Wednesday in Connecticut State Court refers to these incidents when saying “ESPN’s inconsistency in how it treated Steele as compared to her peers demonstrates that Steele was punished not only for exercising her constitutional right to free speech but because of the content of that speech. Steele was disciplined by her employer in violation of Connecticut state law because she exercised her First Amendment right to express opinions with which ESPN and Disney do not agree… Steele also offered some frank, unguarded thoughts about media criticism and the refusal of some individuals to accept opinions unlike their own, or not in accord with those they assume are held by others based on appearance, gender, etc. In this context, when she was asked about her experience as a biracial woman, Steele noted that Barbara Walters once challenged her (on the ABC program The View, owned by Disney) on her biracial identity…In a knee-jerk reaction, ESPN and Disney relied on the misleading characterizations of her comments, bowed to groupthink and forced Steele to publicly apologize and suspended her for a period of time in October 2021.”
- ESPN and Disney had their own comments, saying in a statement: “We embrace different points of view — dialogue and discussion makes this place great. That said, we expect that those points of view be expressed respectfully, in a manner consistent with our values, and in line with our internal policies. Sage remains a valued contributor on some of ESPN’s highest profile content, including the recent Masters telecasts and anchoring our noon SportsCenter. As a point of fact, she was never suspended.”
- Steele has responded to that statement, saying that ESPN didn’t do anything to refute the reports of disciplinary action since the network “stood to benefit from the public perception that she had been punished for her remarks.” Steele also alleges that ESPN continued to punish her by removing her from high-profile assignments, including The Rose Parade, the New York Marathon, and the ESPNW Summit, which she has hosted since 2010.
- The complaint cites the specific example of the ESPNW Summit, saying of the event, “Adding insult to injury, this was done at an event conceived to celebrate and elevate diverse female voices and perspectives.”
- While Steele feels like she was targeted, she also points out that she feels ESPN is selectively enforcing their policies, noting other personalities from the network have expressed personal political views (which is barred per network policy) pointing to SportsCenter personality Jemele Hill, who called former President Donald Trump a “white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself with other white supremacists” on Twitter. She also pointed to another tweet from SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe, who replied to someone saying they hoped ESPN no longer had Steele cover women’s sporting events with “Amen. (Even if it gets me in trouble) Amen.” The complaint alleges that this tweet remained on the account for over three months with no consequences or action taken by ESPN.
- The lawsuit adds, “Countless ESPN employees, including Briscoe, [Dan] LeBatard when he was with the network, Sarah Spain, Mark Jones, Mina Kimes, Damien Woody, and others openly and publicly criticized Steele in direct violation of ESPN policy without any repercussions whatsoever. Disney and ESPN stand by and allow Steele to be bullied and harassed, and in doing so, they punish Steele for expressing her views in exercise of her First Amendment rights.”