When Stage Steele officially left ESPN, she took to Twitter to announce the news: “Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely. I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!” It appears that it was an amicable decision, with the network sharing in a statement that they have “mutually agreed to part ways,” per NBC News.
The case in question was Steele’s lawsuit against her former network in April 2022, when she sued them for supposedly sidelining her over her comments about the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate during an appearance on the “Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast. “I work for a company that mandates it, and I had until September 30th to get it done, or I’m out,” she said at the time.”I respect everyone’s decision, I really do, but to mandate it is sick, and it’s scary to me in many ways.” While she apologized for her remarks, she later sued the network anyway, claiming that she was forced to issue the apology and was subsequently slapped with a suspension, per NPR.
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After settling the case and exiting the network, Steele said in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters that she felt her right to free speech was compromised. “I wasn’t the only one who felt silenced,” she asserted. “The biggest blessing for me is that I’ve finally learned to be okay not being liked, even if they’re for reasons that I think are stupid.”
