ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, is in yet another round of controversy. Sage Steele, a longtime anchor at ESPN, is under fire for remarks she made about former president Barack Obama, as well as slamming Disney’s vaccine mandate for all employees.
This past week, Steele was a guest on former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler’s podcast “Uncut,” where Cutler described Steele as the “Candace Owens of ESPN.” From there things turned ugly. Steele began to re-tell a story of how when she was a host on “The View” she was questioned for why she checks off being biracial on her census. After defending herself, she then went on to talk about President Barack Obama and his blackness.
Steele said it was “fascinating” that the former president would put being Black only on his census, considering his “Black dad was nowhere to be found.” This sparked outrage on social media; this, however, was not the end of Steele’s rant-filled appearance, as she then began to talk about the recent vaccine mandate given by ESPN’s parent company, Disney.
Steele called the vaccine mandates “sick” and “scary,” however she was not surprised that it had gotten to that point. This has not been the first time Steele has been outspoken. She has had a history of criticizing players for standing up in the fight for social justice, which she claims resulted in her not being included in ESPN’s special about race.
As a result of her actions, Steele has been reprimanded by ESPN. She has been suspended from ESPN programming, and on top of everything, Steele tested positive for COVID-19 the same day she got her vaccine. It is unclear when or if Steele will return to programming, but what is certain is that ESPN is in another round of controversy involving its personnel, specifically those who are Black. This dates back to a leaked audiotape this past summer of Rachel Nichols, a white woman, speaking about former employee Maria Taylor and implying she got a role because she is Black. The ball is in ESPN’s court, and it will be more than interesting to see what the next move is for the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”
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