Former ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele didn’t hold back while discussing “passive aggressiveness from NBA coaches,” such as Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr, that she received when she voiced her conservative views and support for President Donald Trump.
During an interview with “The Rubin Report,” Steele claimed Rivers sent her “pages and pages of why I’m such an idiot to be a Republican or conservative and support Donald Trump” and unfollowed her on social media.
“Just knowing that so many of them are full of s–t with what they say versus what they do. And seeing the passive aggressiveness from some of these head coaches, whether it’s Steve Kerr or Doc Rivers — these people that I used to call a friend, especially Doc,” Steele said.
“… Out of the blue, he would send me clips, and I’m like, ‘I just want to talk basketball with you’ or ‘How are your kids? You have grandkids now.
“And instead it’s, ‘I’m so disappointing in the sellout thing’ — with a coach. I think that again, that’s what turns people off with sports. It doesn’t mean you can’t have that opinion. I did too. I just happened to not do it when I was working in sports.”
Steele went onto speculate whether players with conservative views would be afraid to share them publicly, fearing they might face reduced playing time.
“And so when they say these things and they’re quite uneducated about it and then they’re saying it to their guys too and their staff.
“So those players are put in very difficult positions because if they speak up to someone like a Doc Rivers or Steve Kerr, I dont know how he handles that in his locker room — but is that going to effect my playing time?’”
Steele — who was a former “SportsCenter” anchor with ESPN — explained that she doesn’t miss working at the network level because of the political aspect of sports.
Steele left ESPN in August 2023 after both sides settled a lawsuit she filed following her being removed from the air in October 2021 for comments she made about the company’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.
“I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele, who worked at ESPN since 2007, said at the time.
