Michael Loccisano/Getty Images For ESPN

ESPN’s Sage Steele is suing the network claiming her contract was breach and her free speech rights were violated — arguing that she was frozen out of major assignments after comments she made on a podcast last year.

According to the lawsuit first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Steele alleges she was unfairly singled out in a network policy which prohibits news personnel from publicly opining on political or social issues.

Back in September, Steele blasted the network’s Covid vaccine mandate — calling the policy “sick and scary” during an appearance on Jay Cutler’s podcast. She said she only took the vaccine to keep her job.

On the same podcast, Steele discussed her decision to identify as biracial — saying she found it fascinating former President Barack Obama identified as Black. Steele noted that Obama was raised by a White mother, while his Black father “was nowhere to be found.”

Soon after the comments, Steele claims she was told she would be “sidelined” and was forced to issue a public apology. After she came back, the lawsuit claims she was yanked from coverage of the New York City Marathon and ESPN’s yearly summit celebrating women and diverse voices.

Steele was recently assigned to ESPN’s coverage of The Masters, which the network noted in their response to the suit.

“Sage remains a valued contributor on some of ESPN’s highest profile content, including the recent Masters telecasts and anchoring our noon SportsCenter,” the network said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.

The lawsuit also claims that the network failed to stop bullying and harassment against Steele by her colleagues.

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