Sage Steele, a former ESPN anchor has voiced her opinions on how her former organisation meted out different treatment towards her compared to the rest.
However, on the contrary Stephen A. Smith has a dissimilar perspective to offer on this situation.
Steele recently left ESPN after concluding a lawsuit she had filed in April 2022.
The former anchor had filed a lawsuit against the company over the violation of her free speech rights.
She further discussed how limited she had to be in her last organisation.
She said, “If we are allowing my peers to go on social media, much less on our own airwaves, saying things … then I should be allowed on my personal time to give my opinion on my experiences personally, without telling others what to do,”
“There were different rules for me than everyone else.”
Stephen A. Smith, one of the most famous personalities said, “I don’t necessarily vibe with her assertions that there were different rules for her than everyone else.”
He also said, “I think it’s a mistake when a corporation tries to silence anybody,”
“I think you let everybody speak, that way the company doesn’t get blamed for the positions and individual takes. The individual has to be culpable for the words that we articulate and the impact that it has ultimately on us”.
“If I say something and it ultimately costs ESPN dollars and as a result ESPN says, ‘You got to go,’ they’re not saying I have to go because of my politics. They’re saying I have to go because I compromised their bottom line.
And I think that’s the position all corporations should take, as opposed to trying to curtail or silence anybody because you think their individual words are going to be a reflection on the whole. It is not, when you let everybody speak.”
In 2021, Steele made an appearance on the “Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast, where she expressed a few controversial comments about Former President Obama’s identity.
Further, Steele also criticized ESPN’s COVID policy as well.
However, despite the wavering perspectives, Smith wished Steele “Nothing but the best”.
He also said, “She is a good person, her heart’s in the right place”.
