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Cousins!

News anchor Sage Steele has filed a lawsuit against ESPN and parent company Disney claiming that they violated her rights to freedom of speech!

Do you guys remember when Sage made some offensive comments on a podcast last year involving the vaccine and our forever President Barack Obama? Well, the longtime ESPN anchor has filed a lawsuit against ESPN following the alleged treatment she faced after voicing her opinions.

The Connecticut filed lawsuit claims ESPN pulled Steele away from her hosting duties after criticizing the company’s vaccine requirements and forced her to apologize “under the threat of losing her job,” as reported by USA Today.

Appearing on the podcast with NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, she called the vaccine requirement  “sick” and “scary to me in many ways”

In a statement, Steele’s attorney Bryan Freedman says, “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.

According to Steele on Cutler’s podcast, she only received the COVID-19 vaccine because it was a requirement by the company.

“I work for a company that mandates it and I had until September 30th to get it done or I’m out,” Steele said. “I respect everyone’s decision, I really do, but to mandate it is sick and it’s scary to me in many ways.”

The lawsuit alleges ESPN executives told Steele she was being “sidelined” or “taking a break,” five days after her appearance on the podcast episode aired. Also, she claims ESPN pulled her from “all hosting assignments for major events,” including the New York City Marathon, the Rose Parade, and the ESPNW Summit. Plus, Steele calls out ESPN for not disciplining colleagues who “publicly bullied” her.

The lawsuit also compares ESPN’s treatment of Steele and other colleagues who went against the network policy but did not face disciplinary actions.

The lawsuit alleges, “ESPN’s inconsistency in how it treated Steele as compared to her peers demonstrates that Steele was punished not only for exercising her constitutional right to free speech but because of the content of that speech.” The lawsuit continues, “Steele was disciplined by her employer in violation of Connecticut state law because she exercised her First Amendment right to express opinions with which ESPN and Disney do not agree.”

It is unclear what Steele is seeking. But she claims “her reputation and professional prospects have been damaged beyond repair.”

Cousins, what do you guys think? Does Steele have a valid point?