CONSEQUENCES

Anchor Who Called Vax Mandates ‘Sick’ Sues ESPN for ‘Retaliation’

Sage Steele claims she was bullied by co-workers and taken off prime assignments for her controversial comments on vaccines and Barack Obama.

Sage Steele, the controversial ESPN anchor who went on a podcast rant about Barack Obama and COVID vaccine mandates, has sued her employer for allegedly sidelining her in the aftermath. On ex-footballer Jay Cutler’s podcast, she called mandates “sick” and “scary to me in many ways,” and questioned why Obama didn’t identify as biracial, as she does, given he was raised by a white mom and grandmother. Steele, who has previously attracted criticism for her “All Lives Matter-like stances,” claims ESPN violated her First Amendment rights and unlawfully retaliated by forcing her to apologize for the remarks, taking her off prime assignments, and failing to stop bullying by colleagues. In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, ESPN denied Steele was sidelined and said she remained “a valued contributor on some of ESPN’s highest profile content, including the recent Masters telecasts and anchoring our noon SportsCenter.”