Sage Steele called ESPN's vaccine mandate "sick,"
and questioned former President Barack Obama identifying himself as Black
"considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found but his white mom and grandma raised him."
Posted on 04/28/2022 12:22:10 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele is suing ESPN for what she claims was illegal retaliation against her for comments she made on Jay Cutler's podcast last year, according to Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal
The comments in question came last September. Among other things, Steele called ESPN's vaccine mandate "sick," said female reporters dressed a certain way share the blame when athletes make inappropriate comments about them and questioned former President Barack Obama identifying himself as Black "considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found but his white mom and grandma raised him."
The social media backlash was swift, followed by a professional backlash that Steele is reportedly alleging breached her contract and violated her free speech rights.
Steele claims ESPN forced her to apologize for the comments before temporarily suspending her from the air. The apology, which was released by ESPN in October:
"I know my recent comments created controversy for the company, and I apologize. We are in the midst of an extremely challenging time that impacts all of us, and it's more critical than ever that we communicate constructively and thoughtfully," Steele said in a statement.
The lawsuit additionally claims ESPN retaliated against her by taking away prime assignments and failing to stop her colleagues from bullying and harassing her, as well as taking action based on "inaccurate third-party accounts" of her comments before reviewing their context. It also said the network's handling of the incident was an example of selective enforcement of a network barring news personnel from speaking out on political or social issues.
From the Journal:
ESPN has “violated Connecticut law and Steele’s rights to free speech based upon a faulty understanding of her comments and a nonexistent, unenforced workplace policy that serves as nothing more than pretext,” according to the suit.
(Excerpt) Read more at aol.com ...
Sage Steele called ESPN's vaccine mandate "sick,"
and questioned former President Barack Obama identifying himself as Black
"considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found but his white mom and grandma raised him."
“Steele called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick,” said female reporters dressed a certain way share the blame when athletes make inappropriate comments about them and questioned former President Barack Obama identifying himself as Black “considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found but his white mom and grandma raised him.”
Yeah, but what about any of that is wrong?
I know, telling the truth is no longer allowed if it goes against the narrative. Between telling the truth and being married to a white guy......Sage should know any negro leaving the plantation is hunted down and destroyed.
Our own heavily vaxxed walking dead would read her comments and call her a anti-vaxxer. BTW, where have our vaxxtards gone?
“BTW, where have our vaxxtards gone?”
Well, that is the what happens when political disputes and major wars end... One side in the argument just sort of departs the playing field. Suddenly you can’t find a Nazi in 1946 Germany, or a Communist in 1990 Russia.
No contrition? No learning? There has to be a DMS mental illness category for people like this, right?
This is how ESPN gets rid of female reporters while ducking EEOC violations. Sooner or later ESPN is going to get it’s wings clipped by a judge and this kind of behavior will stop.
ESPN is Dizzney. Kill the company.Try and overcome the sports addiction and commentary. Complete waste of time.
Free Speech rights are protection from government interference. Your boss can make any speech requirements for your job that he wishes.
True dat.
You’re wasting your time.
"Good luck with your lawsuit, Sage."
her father went to West Point
Saying the truth is grounds for dismissal. Especially if you are a black women. ESPN should have stayed Private, it was a good company when it started... Disney killed it...
sounds like she told the truth and was punished. ESPN is as woke as they come.
Good thing she said this on a podcast cuz no one would have known if she said anything on ESPN.
So there is no limit to how much of your life your employer can control? She made these comments on her own time.
Smart, beautiful, well-spoken and unvaxxed. What’s not to like?
Two former employees sue ESPN over COVID vaccine mandate
Two former ESPN employees have sued the network and its parent company, Walt Disney, over their terminations in 2021 after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a complaint filed in a Connecticut court on Wednesday, former ESPN reporter Allison Williams and longtime producer Beth Faber alleged that the company made “no serious attempt” to accommodate their COVID-19 exemption requests.
According to the lawsuit, Faber, who had been with the company for more than 30 years, requested an exemption to the company’s vaccine mandate in June 2021 based on her religious beliefs, saying the vaccine goes “AGAINST what God wants” her to put in her body.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3809693-two-former-employees-sue-espn-over-covid-vaccine-mandate/
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