Sage Steele Claims ESPN Asked Her to Stop Tweeting About Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas: ‘Let’s Stop Living in This Lie’

Ex-ESPN anchor Sage Steele claimed she was once asked by the company to stop posting tweets about transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Steele left ESPN in August after reaching a settlement on a lawsuit she filed. In the suit, she accused the company of suspending her for comments she made about the Covid-19 vaccine and former president Barack Obama. Since then, she’s been vocal about the “different rules” she was subject to when voicing her opinions.

On a recent episode of Gaines For Girls, Steele told former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines that ESPN asked her to stop tweeting about Thomas because others in the company took offense to her comments.

“I was asked to stop doing anything, saying anything about it on social media because I was offending others at the company,” she said. “I made sure I sent off another tweet that night after I received that email because no. Let’s stop living in this lie. And, once again, oh, you’re gonna silence me… But then we’re gonna let everybody else talk about all these other things that are not even related to sports, on our sports programming.

“And I’m like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ If we’re gonna preach on ESPNW and all these things, then I’m gonna stand up for all these women — many of whom are afraid to do what Riley Gaines is doing, to do what I’m doing.”