Former \u201cSportsCenter\u201d anchor\u00a0Sage Steele and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith reminisced on their days working together and how their deep-rooted friendship withstood some \u201csorry asses rooting against\u201d her while at the Worldwide Leader. <\/p>\n
During the latest installment of \u201cThe Sage Steele Show,<\/a>\u201d Steele recalled being excluded from the \u201cTime for Change: We Won\u2019t Be Defeated\u201d special on ESPN<\/a> in June 2020, which touched on race and was described as \u201cexploring Black athletes\u2019 experiences with injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n The special, which aired in the aftermath of George Floyd\u2019s death while in custody of the Minneapolis police, was co-hosted by \u201cSportsCenter\u201d anchors Elle Duncan, Michael Eaves and Jay Harris, along with Maria Taylor, a college sports reporter at the time.<\/p>\n Sage Steele anchoring \u201cSportsCenter\u201d before departing ESPN. Instagram\/Sage Steele<\/p>\n Steele, who is biracial, did not appear in the special after Duncan and Eaves, both of whom are black, complained to ESPN brass that she wouldn\u2019t be accepted by what they considered the black community, The Wall Street Journal <\/a>reported at the time.<\/p>\n On her podcast, Steele and Smith discussed a text the \u201cFirst Take\u201d host sent her after she gave The Wall Street Journal a statement regarding the matter, which was published in their 2020 article, saying \u201ctrying to define who is and isn\u2019t black enough\u201d creates more of a divide in this country.<\/p>\n Stephen A. Smith in conversation with Senator Ted Cruz (not pictured) at a SiriusXM Town Hall event at SiriusXM Studio on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images for SiriusXM<\/p>\n \u201cI gave a statement and it was in the Wall Street Journal\u2026 I said [to myself], \u2018OK, if I\u2019m preaching to everybody, including my children, to stand up for what is right then I\u2019m going to continue to stay silent for fear of many things that were real,\u201d Steele said on her podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the article came out and I went on the air [on ESPN] shaking knowing what was probably happening behind the scenes and I get a text from this one [Smith, that said] \u2018Why? How does this help you?’\u201d<\/p>\n Smith confirmed that is \u201cexactly\u201d what his text to Steele said. <\/p>\n Elle Duncan attends ESPN\u2019s \u201cFull Court Press\u201d Season 2 New York Premiere at Hudson Square Theater on April 23, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cRemember, I wasn\u2019t aware of any of that stuff, I knew nothing,\u201d Smith said of the ESPN special. \u201cBut I saw the [Wall Street Journal] article and then I saw your reaction and what did I do?\u201d <\/p>\n Smith explained that he texted Steele because he was thinking of the bigger picture, such as the fallout her statement could have on her children and her family because she was going through a divorce in private at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cBut here was the problem and here\u2019s what I thought you missed. You are a very, very happy woman now \u2014 that wasn\u2019t the case then. You had a lot going on and it\u2019s none of anybody\u2019s business unless you want to tell it. And the fact of the matter is, I knew that,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n Michael Eaves attends the 12th Annual Unbridled Eve Kentucky Derby Gala at The Galt House Hotel on May 2, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. Getty Images for Unbridled Eve<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying that that had something to do with your opinion, I\u2019m saying that had everything to do with your zest to express it. I was saying \u2018why,\u2019 in other words \u2014 you got a family, you got a lot of stuff to think about. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s real easy for other people to sit by and let you do it and vent\u2026 Nah, I\u2019m thinking about the next 5-10 years of your life, your family, your children\u2026. They ain\u2019t going to think about that because their sorry asses, whoever those people may be that are rooting against you, they\u2019re not thinking about you. They\u2019re thinking about the moment you\u2019re going to provide for them to have fodder to talk about you. So I said why ? How does this help you? I know that you knew I meant your family\u2026 that\u2019s what friends do.\u201d<\/p>\n Steele said she wanted to release a statement at the time because the matter was bigger than her job. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never forget [your text] because, number one, I knew that you wouldn\u2019t do it if you didn\u2019t care about me as a human being, much less, forget broadcaster,\u201d Steele said. \u201cAnd number two \u2026 for me it is bigger than money\u2026 It\u2019s about principle at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n Sage Steele poses for photos on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas. Getty Images<\/p>\n At the time, an ESPN spokesman denied that Steele wasn\u2019t invited to participate in the special because of a campaign by colleagues to undermine her or that her views played any role in the network\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n In a joint statement about the race special, Duncan and Eaves said: \u201cWe wish we had more than an hour to include more of the many strong voices we have at ESPN; however, we are hopeful that this doesn\u2019t distract from the important message conveyed that night.\u201d<\/p>\n Steele left ESPN in August 2023 after both sides settled\u00a0a lawsuit she filed\u00a0<\/a>following her being removed from the air in October 2021 for comments she made about the company\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine policy.<\/p>\n \u201cI have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,\u201d Steele, who worked at ESPN since 2007,\u00a0said at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eaves, who joined ESPN in 2015 as a studio anchor, is still with the network, anchoring \u201cSportsCenter\u201d and other events. <\/p>\n Duncan, who anchored the 6 p.m. hour of \u201cSportsCenter\u201d and hosted much of the network\u2019s WNBA coverage, left ESPN in November for Netflix to become the new face of the streaming service\u2019s sports programming.<\/p>\n