SportsCenter Sage Steele, well,
she's been trending on social media
for the past few days,
even though you won't necessarily
find her on ESPN anytime soon
as it appears as the network pulled
Steele off of air for
a reported positive COVID test.
And this is shortly after she
addressed offensive comments that
she made during a recent podcast
episode of Uncut with Jay Cutler.
Here's some of those comments.
>> I do think as women,
we need to be responsible as well.
It isn't just on players and
athletes and
coaches to act a certain way.
I mean, I've had talks with young
women who would come in and
they didn't turn with me,
with our channel or just other
women who reach out to me now.
And I've said to a couple of them,
they're like, well,
would you look at my tape?
Would you do this? And I've said,
listen, I would love to but
the way that you present yourself,
it's not something I want to be
associated with.
>> Yeah. >> So when you dress like
that, I'm not saying you deserve
the gross comments.
But you know what you're doing when
you're putting that outfit on too.
Women are smart,
so don't play coy and
put it all on the guys when we and
again I'm not saying deserves
anything, >> Yes.
>> But we need to be responsible as
women too because we know what
we're doing when we put certain
things on.
And then returning certain texts or
you expect something's not going to
see and if you go to dinner
with this guy, that's on us.
>> How did that hit you?
>> [LAUGH] Well, the first time you
talk about Jay Cutler for
those who don't know, Jay Cutler
is a former NFL quarterback.
So maybe he's been in situations
where he's talked with reporters,
and he's the quarterback.
He's the guy, he's the athlete.
He's the one that Sage Steele there
was talking about as potentially
the type of person where if you
have an interview with or you're
trying to gain a relationship,
maybe do an extended piece on
someone.
>> Any of these types of things
where you're doing a job, and
a woman in the field has to dress a
certain way so that she doesn't get
the wrong kind of gross comments
that we see women get all the time.
I've seen women get gross comments
when they're wearing sweatpants.
Seen women get gross comments when
their hair's in a bun and
it's a mess.
I've seen them get gross comments
when they have a black eye.
I've seen them get these comments
no matter what.
So the thing about having to wear
certain things so
that the athletes and coaches and
maybe front office people won't
give you a hard time or
won't in this male dominated field.
That doesn't really like when women
are intermingling in the wrong
areas of it.
In order to keep them from
doing that, it means
you have to dress a different way?
You don't have to be smart
to realize how bad of
a comment that is to make.
And how even if you do really
believe it,
how you shouldn't just make it.
It seems odd,
she missed that, she's in media.
She doesn't understand how
this looks?
>> No, she chooses not to
understand it, it's just
unfortunate because this is kind of
the rape apologist narrative.
The men can't control
their behavior,
this is what you're doing nonsense.
And it's just like,
it's 2021, really,
are we really going to go ahead and
push that agenda?
It's truly unfortunate given how
many individuals look up to her,
especially young women to think
that the onus is on them to
cover up in some form or fashion.
As opposed to the individual who is
the harass holes, the problem and
then her little extra comment
about, are you really going to go
to dinner with him?
As a practicing attorney, I went to
dinner with my colleagues,
no matter what their gender or age
was, and as long as the colleague
did not engage in harassment,
we didn't have a problem.
So the fact that, I can't go to
dinner with a colleague,
what that ends up doing for a woman
in a sports profession which is
predominately male dominated, and
the men are the ones generally in
power, what that means is
you lose out on opportunities.
And it also says
the professionalism is on you,
as opposed to the man involved.
Sage Steele here is just running
these numbers that essentially hold
women back and it's truly,
truly disappointing but hey,
this is consistent- >> It seemed
like it was a standard question of,
so these young new female reporters
came up to me or potentially
want to get in the field and I told
them, no, don't do it this way.
This sounds like a one of those
training, those
harassment training exercises,
where they have this very typical,
very well choreographed scene,
and you go, I see what the bad guy
is in this scene.
[LAUGH] And that's exactly
who she was.
So, maybe older guys in the field
should tell these younger athletes
or whoever it is that she says they
may just start drooling and
it's out of their control.
Tell them, hey, so if a woman in
the field does an interview with
you, wants to talk to you about
something extensively,
not just on a sideline or court,
I have an idea.
Keep it in your pants and
keep your tongue in your mouth.
Why is that such a hard
thing to do?
And if the guy is just kind of
horny and can't keep himself
together, tell him,
control yourself because you can.
>> Yeah, that's unprofessional and
the onus is on you to act right.
That's not my responsibility,
especially when you want mentorship
or guidance, you want to grow and
learn in your field.
It's nonsensical and unfortunate,
hey, she has a large platform and
she was out here spouting this
nonsense.
And really reinforcing these
stereotypes and
also putting the onus on women.
But I'd love to learn,
to show you all a little bit more
about her thoughts on vaccines.
>> I didn't want to do it, but
I work for
a company that mandates it, and I-
>> Were you- >> Had until September
30th to get it done or I'm out.
[LAUGH] I respect everyone's
decision, I really do.
But 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.
It's one thing with masks, I don't
have a problem with, that's another
thing when you force this and
it hurt, and I'm tough but I think
she put in the muscles like.
[LAUGH] >> You're getting this
shot, you're taking this shot.
[LAUGH] >> Yeah,
that's just more MAGA mentality.
[CROSSTALK] >> Enough, for
you guys who don't know, I'm sorry.
So for you guys who don't know,
there was the moment earlier in
that long interview,
the appearance she had on
Jay Cutler show where she mentioned
how she respects Candace Owens.
Fine, you can respect Candace Owens
all you want, that's okay.
But then refers back, that was
the reference that she made.
She was, maybe the nurse, whoever
that was administering the shot was
really trying because maybe she
thought I was Candice Owens.
So again, it goes to this narrative
that anybody who would see
Candace Owens, they must, how do
you know the nurse doesn't like
Candace Owens, why would the nurse
suddenly not like Candace Owens and
think that you're her?
I mean, she already has issues
with colorism and identity already.
So maybe she does.
Maybe she would think people would
confuse her with Candace Owens and
therefore, it's Candace Owens,
have to hurt her,
because that's how people are.
I'm not sure her approach or what
her idea was or what she looked
to get out of this interview, but
whatever it was, she didn't get it.
>> No, not at all.
And it's also interesting, because
after she made this comment, and
we'll play the last one for you
shortly, she ends up being pulled
off of air, off of this commentary.
And ESPN instead of addressing it
likes to say that hey,
she tested positive for COVID.
So it just makes you think,
you know what, even if she did
test positive indeed for COVID,
this mentality of trying to get
away from the vaccine or suggesting
there's something wrong with it.
And there's something wrong with
her employer for enforcing that on
the college like campus environment
at which ESPN is run.
It really just says, this person's
not necessarily focused on
ensuring everyone else is safe, but
she was HDL focused on Obama and
her thoughts about him.
So, if we could play that
really quick about
what she said with Obama.
>> When you fill out your census,
I'm like, well, I don't know when
the last time I filled out my
census was but if they make you
choose a race, she's like,
what are you going to put?
I go, well both, she's like,
well you can't.
Barack Obama chose black and
he's biracial.
I'm like, well
congratulations to the President.
That's his thing.
I think that's fascinating
considering his black dad
was nowhere to be found but
his white mom and
grandma raised him, but hey,
you do you, I'm going to do me.
>> [LAUGH] So, Your identity,
it's based off of not who your
father is, it's based off of your
father was there and
he raised you at certain moments.
There's people I know,
they're raised by their parents,
by his particular mom or
dad, and still didn't have much of
a relationship [LAUGH] with them,
raised by them.
So, whatever it is you think you
that makes people who they are or
who they choose to identify as.
Again I can even see her beef with
being like, how come I can't
say who I really am?
I'm biracial, I'm both black and
white, I think she's Italian and
Irish maybe and
also African American.
If you want to identify with all of
the backgrounds you are, I love
that, do it bro, because honestly I
think a little bit of these types
of decisions that you have to make
when they identify with who they
are in these census forms.
It's going to be harder and
harder to nail down people because
there's a lot of different things
in folks and it's more visible and
people pass certain ways if that's
the term you like to use.
And so maybe you will have to start
having different ways of
identifying on things like
a census form.
But until then I don't get
the criticism for
what someone did choose to do.
And if you have a frustration with
how you have to choose it,
I'm with you on that.
Because whatever she identifies as
is great because that's her.
That's not my judgment on her.
>> Yeah, well, what I took out of
that last statement about Obama was
really pushing home that white
supremacy narrative about black
fathers being absent.
That's what I took from that and
reinforcing it.
And I think this is again right up
her alley for commentary that she
says, but you know what, Sage after
being called out in mass online,
she came forward to address her
remarks through this statement that
I will not call an apology because
I don't see any apology.
She said, I know my recent comments
created controversy for
the company and I apologize.
We are in the midst of an extremely
challenging time that impacts all
of us and it's more critical than
ever that we communicate
constructively and thoughtfully.
And again,
that whole apology thing,
I think that's apologizing for
causing the controversy, not for
what she said, but of course, her
employer ESPN, who pushed really
this whole stick to sports mantra.
Well, it issued a statement of its
own, it said, at ESPN,
we embrace different points of
view, dialogue and
discussion make this place great.
That said, we expect that those
points of view be expressed
respectfully, in a manner
consistent with our values and
in line with our internal policies.
We are having direct conversations
with Sage and those conversations
will remain private.
And of course those conversations,
hopefully they're being held at
what six feet away because now
they're claiming Sage Steele is
no longer on air because
she tested positive for
COVID and now she needs to recoup.
>> Can I ask you further,
why do you think that they will
take the route of claiming that
she's got it but she doesn't?
Because it's plausible because
obviously it sounds like she kind
of doesn't believe that she needs
to or that it's that dangerous to
be around folks and
just whatever actions that she may
have taken to get it.
So at least it's believable.
What's the benefit from their point
of view when they just be like,
yeah, she's catching bad press,
we're not a part of that bro.
Well, we have to remember
that the agenda right now because
of the controversy is not to
necessarily put her on air, just
like we saw with Rachel Nichols.
When she made those statements
about NBA analyst, Maria Taylor,
that were essentially they
had racial backing to them and they
essentially were implicitly racist.
And that's definitely from my
analysis there, but
what I will say is that ESPN didn't
want to come out and punish her, or
act to suspend her because then it
would have to do that and various
other individuals out there.
But also at the same time, we have
to realize ESPN has a history,
how it treated Jemele Hill,
how it treated me,
how it treated Maria Taylor.
So, it's not necessarily always
been this outlet that
uplifts black people, black women,
or really does things that counter
white supremacy.
So, when Sage Steele is out here
uplifting a white supremacy agenda,
the last thing they want to do
is punish her on a public way
because hey, that would really
go against what's kind of really
being sent from this company as
that subtle messages come across.
>> Yeah, are they afraid?
>> That's my analogy.
>> That's what I'm saying,
are they afraid of say like, those
folks that maybe agree with her,
they're trying to play down
the middle or is that they kind of
are okay with these statements.
And they just don't want to look
like they'll punish her because
they actually like what she said.
I feel like I'm getting too deep,
and you're having to analyze what
it is that they may doing.
It's just that this is one of
the reasons I really liked having
to discuss with you because I feel
like you've seen things, and
experienced the way they react to
stuff that everyone else hasn't.
>> Absolutely, I think you could
just read the tea leaves of
the things that we've already seen.
Really essentially come out of that
company, how they treated people,
how they've responded to issues.
And also you look at how it's built
and constructed in its own and
the fact that there have been books
written on this issue.
So it's like,
let's not play ourselves.
We really know what the agenda of
some of these outlets truly is.
We also know that sports tends to
be a white male dominated industry
when it comes to broadcast.
So let's not pretend that,
hey the things she said were too
off the beaten path for
some of that behavior.
That's my thoughts.