Veteran ESPN anchor Sage Steele leaves network after settling lawsuit over controversial remarks

Sage Steele, a longtime ESPN anchor, has departed the network after settling a lawsuit with ESPN and parent company Disney.
Steele was briefly suspended in 2021 for comments critical of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, remarks about female sports reporters' clothing choices, and questioning Barack Obama's racial identity.
In her lawsuit, Steele alleged ESPN violated her free speech rights and unfairly punished her compared to other employees who made controversial statements.
After settling the lawsuit, Steele and ESPN mutually agreed to part ways, with Steele citing a desire to exercise her First Amendment rights.
Steele had been with ESPN since 2007, serving as a mainstay anchor on SportsCenter and as host for golf and NBA programming.