After nearly a decade-long run as an NBA analyst for ESPN, Sage Steele was let go from the network following some choice political comments. Following the results of the 2024 US presidential election, she took to social media to share her thoughts on the outcome.
Following Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the election this year, Vice President Kamala Harris was chosen late in the game to represent the Democratic Party. She’d be going up against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who was eyeing a second term.
Americans hit the polls Tuesday, and the end result was Trump securing the presidency once again. Early Wednesday morning, Steele took to X (formerly Twitter) sharing her thoughts on why the former president came out on top.
“This is what happens when you push people to the brink,” Steele said. “This is what happens when you choose to divide instead of bring together.”
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“This is what happens when you try to ruin America. You get an uprising and you get people saying enough is enough.”
We did it. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Zipytd06nV
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) November 6, 2024
Steele joined ESPN in 2007 as a host of “SportsCenter.” During her time there she’d go on to be an analyst for other flagship programs such as “NBA Countdown.” Steele would stay with ESPN until the summer of 2023 when she finally made the decision to walk away.
Former NBA analyst had rocky end to ESPN tenure due to views on COVID-19 vaccine
After spending roughly 16 years with ESPN, Sage Steele’s time with the network was met with a rocky end. The beginning of the end for the former “NBA Countdown” host began in the fall of 2021.
While appearing on longtime NFL quarterback Jay Cutler’s podcast, she made some choice comments about the COVID-19 vaccine. She agreed with peoples’ right to take it but was against ESPN mandating it for all their employees. ESPN responded by suspending Steele, though she did later come out and issue a public apology.
A year later, the longtime NBA analyst would end up filing a lawsuit against ESPN regarding this situation. Along with being kept off the air for nearly two weeks, she accused the network of removing her from big programs because of her comments.
In the end, Steele and ESPN ended up coming to terms on a settlement. They gave her $500,000 and covered any lawyer fees. Shortly after the two sides came to an agreement, she left the network so she could “exercise her First Amendment rights more freely.”
