Sage Steele Tells Jay Cutler She Only Got Vaccinated Because of ESPN’s ‘Sick’ and ‘Scary’ Mandate
ESPN’s Sage Steele is vaccinated against Covid-19, but not by choice.
Steele will be a guest on Jay Cutler’s podcast on Wednesday, where she tells the former NFL quarterback that she only received the vaccine to avoid getting booted off ESPN’s programming.
During the Uncut with Jay Cutler podcast episode, Steele acknowledged she just received a vaccine shot after the former quarterback asked her about the band-aid on her arm.
“I didn’t want to do it,” Steele says. “But I work for a company that mandates it and I had until September 30 to get it done or I’m out.”
In May, ESPN announced a vaccine mandate for all employees who would be working on-site, to ensure compliance with the various Covid protocols for sports leagues and conferences. That mandate recently impacted longtime sports reporter Allison Williams, who refused the vaccine and has since been removed from ESPN’s college football coverage.
Disney, which owns ESPN, announced a vaccine mandate for all non-union employees in early August, regardless of whether they worked on-site or in studio. According to Steele, that mandate will be enforced starting Sept. 30.
“I respect everyone’s decision; I really do,” Steele says on the podcast. “To mandate it is sick and scary to me in many ways, but I have a job. A job that I love, and frankly, a job that I need, but again I love it. I’m not surprised it got to this point, especially with Disney, a global company… but it was actually emotional”
Steele’s opinion counters many of her ESPN colleagues, such as Stephen A. Smith and Scott Van Pelt, who both recently ripped professional athletes for their vaccine hesitancy. But this is not the first time Steele has voiced any concern for mask or vaccine mandates. Last week she responded to a tweet from Clay Travis which compared children’s Covid deaths to the number of children who have been shot in Chicago.
“But yes — let’s keep masking up our children!” Steele responded. “One again, when facts don’t fit the narrative…”
Steele is used to seeing her political and social opinions enter the center of controversy, previously getting criticized for claiming the “worst racism I have received…is from Black people.” The ESPN anchor’s disapproval of NFL wide receiver Mike Evans sitting during the national anthem, and complaint about people protesting Donald Trump’s immigration ban at LAX also received backlash.
