After departing from ESPN, former SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele has been actively engaging with conservative and Christian communities, discussing her decisions to sue Disney and ESPN over their response to her comments on the company’s vaccine mandate. After suing ESPN and Disney, Steele was recently invited to speak at Liberty University. During her speech, she talked about her personal experiences, including being struck by a golf ball, which she saw as a message from “something evil” attempting to silence her.
After criticizing ESPN’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate during an appearance on Jay Cutler’s podcast in October 2021, Steele was suspended and taken off the air. Following her return, she sued ESPN and Disney, alleging breach of contract and infringement of her free speech rights. Not long after, she suffered injuries from an errant golf ball at the PGA Championship, leading to her departure from ESPN in August 2023, coinciding with the settlement of her lawsuit.
Sage Steele: The devil knocked out my teeth with a golf ball for suing ESPN and speaking out https://t.co/63NjyMFR9U pic.twitter.com/9Dk5lxWI0k
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 27, 2024
Reflecting on the incident with the golf ball, Steele believed it was a sinister force trying to intimidate her into silence, especially given the timing of her lawsuit. However, she later realized it was not a divine message but rather an attempt to instill fear.
Despite her challenges, Steele admitted feeling devastated about leaving ESPN but found solace in the following opportunities:. She has since become a prominent figure in conservative media circles and was even rumored to be considered for a potential political run in the 2024 election in Connecticut.
