Sage Steele: Former Co-host of ESPN’s SportsCenter in studio

But with me right now in studio is one of the finest sports catchers in the country, Sage Steele, former co-host at Sports Center for years, but knows more than just sports, knows a lot about life. And it's the first time I have a chance to meet you in person. I'm a huge fan. Oh my gosh, no, I'm the fan of you.

And I walked in eight seconds ago. So this is my hug. I'm a hugger. And I was like, Oh, you're a very physical person.

Well, that sounds very misleading, potentially. Well, I mean, because I know, like, I think the stereotype is correct, because I'm half Italian, half Irish. Yes. And the Italian side of my family are all very big huggers. Yeah, the Irish, they invented the fist bump.

Okay, how about this? My mother is half Irish, half Italian. So she's that. Oh, so I'm my mother. And by the way, my grandmother, this is proof.

Filomena Lena di Pratola. Okay, so I know when you see me, absolutely. When you see me, you think, Oh, she's Italian for sure. Like, I have proof here. I'm legit.

Well, you are legit. Great interview with Megyn Kelly. Enjoyed every second, about two hours. It sounded a lot like almost like therapy and a conversation with your two friends. You guys have known each other for a while. I met her once.

Yeah, we have the same attorney, Brian Friedman, is a busy man these days. And that's how we were introduced. I'd been a fan of Megyn from the beginning here, and certainly followed her career.

She's someone I looked up to based on her professionalism and the way she does her job and to experience that the other day was incredible. But it was therapeutic. I think that's probably the emotions that came out that were a little unexpected. I didn't expect to feel that way. But it was also in hindsight the first time I'd been able to speak freely about anything but much less myself.

So I think that's where the emotion came from. Were you living in Connecticut? I am living in Connecticut. You still are. Yes, I just got to live around Bristol. Yes. Okay. Yay. Right. I tell you here, I've only been there a couple of times. Yeah, don't don't go back.

And there's some beautiful little suburbs, but it's just not my happy place. Put it that way. So Sage is going to come on One Nation. You're going to see a Saturday night at eight and repeats over at 11. We're going to take a short break, a shorter segment, and then we're gonna come back for the rest of the half hour.

Is that right? Thank you. All right. Do you want to talk at the break or just stare straight ahead and look at our phones? I want a hug. Oh, you want a hug? Okay. I'll channel my Italian side. All right. And you better tell Sage Steel is here.

Don't move. Brian, kill me, Jeff. From the Fox News podcast network, I'm Ben Domenech, Fox News contributor and editor of the transom.com daily newsletter, and I'm inviting you to join a conversation every week. It's the Ben Domenech podcast. Subscribe and listen now by going to Fox News podcast.com radio that makes you think this is the Brian kill me show. I'm here to tell you there's a misnomer that ESPN is some liberal place.

That is a lot. I know a bunch of conservatives that work at ESPN. I'm telling you what I know, but the reason why I bring that subject up is because I think it's a mistake when a corporation tries to silence anybody.

I think you let everybody speak that way. The company doesn't get blamed for the positions and individual takes the individual has to be culpable for the words that we articulate in the impact that it has ultimately on us. If I say something and it ultimately cost ESPN dollars and as a result, ESPN says you got to go. They're not saying I have to go because of my politics. They're saying I have to go because I compromise their bottom line and I think that's the position all corporations should take as opposed to trying to curtail or silence anybody because you think their individual words are going to be a reflection on the whole.

It is not when you let everybody speak. So Stephen A. Smith was was really talking about Sage Steele leaving ESPN both staples of that of the 24 hour sports network and Stephen A. Smith knows I just read his book. He was suspended twice. One time he was fired just like go.

They didn't like what he was saying. Got suspended for 2 weeks because he's and he's in a debate show. Yep.

So Sage Steele is actually here. If you're watching Fox Nation, we're meeting for the first time and we did have being we're both half Italian. You're a third Italian. I'm half. I'm a quarter Italian I guess. A quarter Italian. Yes. Something like that. Mom's half Irish half Italians.

What does that make me? Your mom's a quarter. Yeah. Yeah. I would think, yeah, if we have to divide into thirds. Maths.

You know, we're going to do 23 and me and just solve this. Okay. Yes. What is your take on Stephen A. Smith is kind of referring to your situation? I love that man and I have worked with him from day one since 2007 and I have been a huge, excuse me, defender of his when he has been suspended because II didn't agree with the reasons why he was suspended at the time and that wasn't and that was a while ago too but it was interesting being that it is his format is debate.

At the end of the day, Stephen A is on record and we've had conversations about this. We we often disagree about a lot of things. My whole point from day one is consistency and you cannot allow everyone else to talk about whatever they want. That has nothing to do with sports on our airwaves, on our platforms, whether it's it's on either ESPN or ESPN Radio or even social media and allow and then the one person who happens to be me that speaks up about other things and by the way in the podcast that with Jay Cutler and which all the comments took place. That was my off day, my own time asking about things that were personal to me as a biracial woman with the vaccine, etcetera so I can have opinions on things that affect me.

I'm not even talking about abortion. So to me, it's just being consistent. You can't have rules for some and not for others and by the way as a parent of 3, it works that way too.

Consistency is all I ever wanted and that's what's been missing right. You have one thing to say and if I if I'm misstating this, but you're biracial. Yes, and you don't want to disrespect your white mom by saying that you're black or white. You're biracial. Yes, and you brought that up with President Obama.

You said listen. Why does he say he's black? He's got a white actually I didn't bring it up. I was on The View Barbara Walters on live TV brought it up to me and I said, well, what's wrong? Why don't you? Why do you have to say biracial our current president? This is in 2014. Our president says he's black. Why can't you and I'm like what show me the rule book.

What what is this and most importantly why why does it matter and this is in 2014 on ABC. No one had a problem with with what I said then fast forward to 2021 and there was an issue. I will always say it Brian.

I am so proud of all of me. Yeah of my black side and my white side and to be told to choose is disgusting. It's wrong that has a whole race connotation as well and and I used to be afraid to speak about this, but when you're kind of beaten up your whole life about it and then someone comes out enough, but I know from having spoken about it the importance of getting it out there because there's so many people biracial young old kids girls boys who feel this way and I'm just not afraid so I have to be there for them too.

Why choose the thing and I heard you talking to Megan about this with Barbara Walters basically almost got got physical with you in the back room. I mean was she was she I know that she ended up sadly having dementia so yeah, but was I don't know if that was playing a role in that. I don't know listen II said it kind of like jokingly because everyone who was there and witnessed it and that was some of my friends were there. We were it was just we were laughing.

It was like I was speechless. Whoopi Goldberg might have a problem with it, but you said she was great. Yeah, she was she was great to me the entire time. I have a lot of respect for whoopi the human being I really do but when I said the same thing by the way and I love Elizabeth Hasselbeck. She's a friend of mine and I have so much respect for her and what she went through for so many years on that show, but when I it was funny and I said it in jest because I was laughing that Barbara Walters back then elbowed me and I and then people took it.

Sage Steele says she assaulted her you people need a life like stop. I know that's one thing if you eventually ever come to Fox or anything to do with Fox get used to that. I don't Google my name, but you know Sage you've arguably had it. You've had a challenge almost every day because you are the breadwinner in your family. You're trying to raise 3 kids and you had your dream you have your dream job at ESPN top 5 sportscasters top 3 maybe in the country doing one of the my person as a broadcaster you're putting together these highlights putting them together knowing you're ad-libbing half of them doing 2 things at once. You have to be competent in all these sports international names knowing on the fly a guy you know guys goes 46 points.

You better know how to say his or her name. Yes. I just have so much respect. Thank you. You get a tenth of the support people support people actually think ESPN anchors get you're doing everything. Thank you so much number one you're in television. You understand the pressure and our show is 2 hours live every day breaking news. It's kind of what people don't see which is my favorite part that whole hashtag BTS behind the scenes is we are walking and talking while doing highlights. The studio is massive and it is a physically challenging show to the directors. We are the best and someone in your ear and someone in my ear which is why I'm crazy, but I think it helps me in this job right.

It's it's it's close to sports as being in sports. Yes, because you have to do things adapt in real time make your own decisions and the ramifications are tremendous and you'll be and you'll be doing it again. If you choose or you or you want to know the form you're not going anywhere, but I want you to hear everybody hear the crazy comments you made to former quarterback Jay Cutler cut 56.

What's the band aid for well, I got my shot today. I respect everyone's decision. I really do mandate it is sick and it's scary to me in many ways, but I have a job a job that I love and frankly job that I need, but again I love it. I just I'm not surprised got to this point, especially with this.

I mean a global company like that, but I just like it was actually emotional like so and it's funny. Everybody else has their yay look and here's my card and let's like you know what you want to see what my face look like when I had to do it so I get it to an extent, but I think the mandate is what I really have an issue with and I don't know. I don't know what comes next and we basically got it because you know the same thing at Fox. You know we had to deconflict everyone to go to separate studios and to come back in you had to get vaccinated, but you didn't lose your job.

You work from home and then there was no disclaimer on this on this vaccine mandate. It's one of the big stories today that we still go and they're talking about putting masks on kids again. So it's not over so you have. That's what I was referring to by the way that 2 years ago is what's next and now it's here all of a sudden doctor Fauci has come out of his basement again and we're listening again and oh gosh it's not over. I'm not listening well.

Yeah. I shouldn't say we because you and I are not and I think here's I actually think millions of Americans many more millions maybe who quietly felt that way back a couple years ago to me. I'm concerned. I don't think people are going to take it this time. It's on the way like we know it and you know what they better not take it because if we as a society continue to just take these marching orders, especially when we are actually we're following your science and we're listening to you and now you're full of it. We all know and so to bring it back if we say yes again if we allowed again, it's our own fault. Absolutely and I agree with you have you ever and by the way Operation warp speed if you see the technology behind it get the story behind it.

I think your objectives are pure. I don't think it was to make Pfizer rich. It was to find a way out of this the one difference between Trump and Biden. Here's your vaccine make your own decision. Yes, never would have mandated ask him.

He never would have mandated it. In the beginning he said yeah, I got vaccinated right away. There was other people that didn't now.

Why did President Trump get vaccinated? He told me as soon as I call back and I saw some of my friends not in great shape in their 80s that were dying and I said to myself, you know we saw for a while people were being put into refrigerators because they didn't know what this thing was. They were killing them by putting them on respirators as part of the problem.

So they were making it up as they went along. We know that now they were killing them while dying and they were in the hospital. They were in the hospital. The doctors were in the hospital. They were in the hospital. They were in the hospital. And they were killing them. And they were all alone a horrific death.

The families couldn't come in. So you made the decision. I'll do it got to keep my job. But I don't have to be happy about it. And what did manage why that's the thing I can have an opinion and and comply. As long as I'm compliant and I and I did that and what happened.

I'm giving facts. They forced it. I I do think it's sick but I but I complied with it and then the comments related to the Obama, Barbara Walters and my own view on how I feel as a biracial woman. That didn't sit over well and there are a couple of the same conversation. It was all it was all in the same podcast. It all took place in the same podcast. So that's when I the phone started ringing.

An agent called and they said in order to keep your your job, you have to publicly apologize. And I fought it. Trust me. Trust me. I thought because I knew that I was wait. I'm just being true to myself just like everyone else who's going on their own tangents on our airwaves.

A big difference about again things that have nothing to do with sports on our own airwaves. So I just thought, wait, where's this double standard? I don't explain it to me and there was no explanation and so I did it and I apologized and then they released a statement and then I lost assignments and things that I had worked hard on weren't promoted and the domino effect and it kept going and going and going and at that point, it's one thing to apologize and move on which is what I was told would happen. It's another thing for the punishment to continue to be levied and that's where again a lot of years of things building up to this but that's where I had to personally draw my line and there's never been a scarier decision I've made in my life and because I knew the repercussions when you stand up and when a lawsuit is filed, there's no turning back. There's no reconciliation usually and that broke my heart because my whole life when I started at ESPN, my kids were 11 months old, two and four.

They're now seventeen, nineteen and twenty-one. Well, all they've known is mom at ESPN and we've had a beautiful life there. I have zero regrets for many of it from even even when back in the day when I stayed silent about a lot of things I probably shouldn't have but I'm not one to go way back to let me dig this up. That was my decision then onward. My decision now is obvious. I'm so sad it had to come to this. My goal now is to if I continue to to speak out and hopefully other companies are listening especially with what we just talked about with the potential.

It seems like of COVID coming back. They have to listen to us employees. It's my health.

It's my body, my choice is it not? So, I think I think that I think that it's really now or never and I just hope that by me doing this, I mean, I'm just one little annoying person with a bunch of like but I hope that others aren't as fearful as I was for so many years because at some point, shame on the employers for doing this but I do believe it's personal responsibility and I couldn't continue to complain about something if I wasn't willing to take a stand as costly as it might be and it's been costly. But you know how many people listening right now without public positions have to put up with not let's say a shot or things they don't agree with, bosses that are abusive, situations where they're not promoted when they should because they say, I am the breadwinner. I have to suck it up and deal with it.

It hurts your self-esteem but what's your approach? I gotta make my house payments. I gotta pay my bills.

That's why I don't have, I don't, you know, I don't have a cushion, a two-year cushion to go find myself. Right. A lot of times, they just don't mix and that's why people can relate to your message that you had to suck it up and say what you had to say to keep that job because you care about your kids. And I got a lot of pushback for people saying, yeah, right. You're just like everybody else. You came out on your I'm sorry tour and you and you did it and you know, all the names, all the attacks and that and you know what II understood it but II was I was so desperate and I wanted to be able to explain why I had to go ahead and do it and how I why I had to apologize because that's the first thing.

Don't apologize. I had no choice. Here's the thing. As a mother doing this, you know, their fathers in town were divorced but but he's involved but as the mother and you know, primary custody, etcetera, they're watching me and if I am encouraging my kids, I have two daughters and a son but especially those girls to stand tall and be strong and stand up for what you believe in and defend others and then I sit silently II couldn't do it. I was physically ill thinking about not practicing what I preach.

Right. I just can't believe it had to come to this. But the stress of that moment when you had that meeting, it's almost like someone hit symbols in your ear. You're seeing what's happening.

You're seeing your career. Managers you thought had your back and friends. They all. Friends are, listen, the friends in quotes, right? And I actually think that's been a huge blessing because that's when you know. The herd.

Oh and it's thin and it's a very small circle and that's been painful. I'm not going to be, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and I am a super sensitive emotional person but it's been a huge blessing to know who really and by the way, people who don't agree with me on many of these topics but it's not about that. I like you the human. I don't care what your job is.

I don't care what your opinions are. It's about the human connection and loyalty. Loyalty.

I'm an army kid, right? I mean, loyalty and integrity and principle. Right.

Matters. When we come back a few more minutes with Sage Steeles, kind enough to be in studio. Wasn't able to do that. Was ESPN let you? No, they would never let you come on Fox, would they? I'm not. Oh, Steven A. Smith used to. I'm not Steven A. We're not Steven A. There's one Steven A.

Back in a moment. Newsmakers and news breakers. Here at first on the Brian Kilmeade Show. We ended up getting married at West Point. We were young and very naive. My parents pretty much disowned me and didn't come to the wedding or anything like that. They were in Panama and she called her mom to say, I'm going to have a baby and her mom hung up the phone. There were many things that were said about what a relationship with a black husband would be and how you would end up being treated, etcetera. And so how are her parents going to know she's okay?

So I believe it was once a month and once a month, I would pen a letter. Here's where we are. Here's what's going on.

Here's what we're doing together. So that is Sage Steele's parents on NFL films, a great documentary and I did not know this originally but I was just listening that your dad was the first black football player at West Point. Played varsity football ever at West Point. Broke the color barrier.

Unbelievable. But they were talking about what it was like for them personally. What years are we talking about? They got married in 1971. So in October is 52 years for them and it was just coming off of the civil rights era and Vietnam and such a difficult time and my mom's parents disowned her. A white mom for marrying a black man and so that was the story that I did not know until NFL films did that piece on me that every month my dad would write to my mom's parents who wouldn't respond, wouldn't pick up the phone to say, listen, you're not paying attention to her and you have disowned her but I'm taking care of your daughter and that was that every time I hear it, I get, you know. You can imagine your last name aptly. Yes.

It really talks about your parents, right? Totally. And I've used the hashtag for thank you. Here's the thing. I never I never knew I was strong.

I didn't know and that's why when I said earlier, I wouldn't change anything. All these ups and downs in my dream job because I had to realize my strength and it's been a it's been a blessing. And now you're on your own. You got your settlement on your lawsuit and if people want to know more about you, Sage, you can go to your website, Sage Steel.com. Thank you. Alright. Thank you, Brian. And would I be able to talk to you still Saturday night, 8 o'clock? Yes. Hello. Thank you. Listen to the show