Ex-ESPN Anchor Sage Steele Claims NBA Coach Doc Rivers Messaged Her on Social Media to Argue About Trump

Ex-ESPN anchor Sage Steele claimed NBA coach Doc Rivers privately messaged her on social media to argue about her support of President Donald Trump.

Prior to her controversial split from ESPN, Steele, 53, regularly expressed her conservative beliefs outside of work. According to her, that drew the ire of Rivers to the extent that he actually reached out and confronted her over her views.

On an recent episode of Dave Rubin’s The Rubin Report, Steele said:

I’m going to show you later the DMs from this man that were– he quit, he unfollowed me, and all the things, probably blocked me.

I mean, pages and pages of why I’m such an idiot to be a Republican or conservative and support Donald Trump.

I mean, out of the blue he would send me clips on– and I’m like, I just want to talk basketball with you. Or like, how are your kids? You have grandkids now. Like what about– and instead, it’s, “I’m so disappointed in the sellout thing,” with a coach!

The legendary coach, 64, resigned as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks midseason.

Steele’s relationship with ESPN — and the sports world as a whole — first began unraveling in 2021.

Despite getting vaccinated against Covid-19, Steele slammed the company’s vaccine mandate as “sick and scary” and expressed skepticism over the jab. She later tested positive for the coronavirus and was sidelined for an extended period of time.

The following year, Steele filed a lawsuit against ESPN and accused the network of treating her unfairly over her beliefs. She claimed she was intentionally left off of major assignments.

In August 2023, Steele reached a settlement with the network and announced she would be leaving. Not long after that announcement, she debuted her own show on Bill Maher’s podcast network. She has since between a prominent figure in conservative political commentary, making regular appearances on Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!