One of ESPN's most recognizable faces, Sage Steele, is leaving the sports network operated by The Walt Disney Company. After more than 16 years – she joined in March 2007 – covering events and hosting programs such as SportsCenter, the presenter has decided to end her career after a series of controversies and court disputes following comments she made against covid vaccines and about former President Barack Obama's racial origins.

"Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave, so I can exercise my First Amendment rights more freely. I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!," wrote the presenter on her Twitter account.

Sidelined for criticizing covid vaccine mandates and Barack Obama

The court fight between ESPN/The Walt Disney Company and Steele began in October 2021. The presenter criticized the order given by the chain to its employees to get vaccinated against covid. "I respect everyone's decision. I really do. But to mandate it is sick, and it's scary to me in many ways," she said in a podcast. She also questioned statements by Barack Obama in which the former president boasted of being black despite the fact that his mother was white. The network's response was to remove her from the programs for ten days and leave her out of several live coverages such as the New York City Marathon. In addition, the network demanded that she apologize for her comments.

That's when Steele took legal action. "[ESPN] forced Steele to apologize, allowed media to destroy her, and let media reports that she had been suspended go unchallenged, and allowed Steele’s colleagues to defame her in violation of company policy without so much as a reprimand," the lawsuit said. "ESPN violated Steele's free speech rights based on their comments and a non-existent work policy that serves only as a pretext."

Finally, on June 21, 2023, ESPN offered its former anchor $500,000 more to pay the cost of her lawyers to settle the lawsuit. An agreement that was never made public.