Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele revealed that the network asked her to stop discussing trans swimmer Lia Thomas dominating women’s swimming, but she disobeyed.
Steele expressed her commitment to standing up for female athletes and criticized ESPN for allowing other public figures to speak on non-sports-related issues.
She emphasized her dedication to supporting women in sports and her belief in scientific and biological facts. (Trending: Transgender Actor ‘Purposefully Misgendered’ By Airline Employee)
“I was asked to stop tweeting about it. I was asked to stop doing anything, saying anything about it on social media because I was ‘offending’ others at the company,” said Steele.
Sage Steele says ESPN told her to stop talking about Lia Thomas – a man destroying women in the pool – but she refused to comply.
Incredible bravery from @SageSteele. pic.twitter.com/wh9CyHESrd
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) December 27, 2023
“I made sure I sent off another tweet that night after I received that email. Because, no, let’s stop living in this lie,” she recalled.
“I’m like, no, no, no, no, no. If we’re gonna preach on ESPN, and all of these things, then I’m gonna stand up for all these women — many of whom are afraid to do what Riley Gaines is doing, to do what I’m doing, at a much lesser level than Riley,” explained Steele.
“I actually said this to myself…This is a hill I will die on, 100%,” said Steele.
Steele was previously removed from ESPN airwaves and high-profile assignments after criticizing the company’s COVID vaccine mandate.
“These are facts, this is science, this is biology — come at me, tell me I’m wrong, tell me to stop supporting women,” she continued.
“Go ahead, tell me,” she challenged.
She later sued ESPN, alleging violations of her free speech rights, and settled the lawsuit this year before leaving the network to exercise her “first amendment rights more freely.”
Steele’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, said, “Despite fully complying with ESPN’s policy, Sage Steele was punished for speaking her truth in violation of freedom of speech protections under Connecticut law and the U.S. constitution. ESPN violated her free speech rights, retaliated against her, reprimanded her, scapegoated her, allowed the media and her peers to excoriate her and forced her to apologize simply because her personal opinions did not align with Disney’s corporate philosophy of the moment.”
“Sage is standing up to corporate America to ensure employees don’t get their rights trampled on or their opinions silenced,” he continued.
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