ESPN star Sage Steele will reportedly return to the air “sometime next week” after slamming the company’s vaccine mandate and former President Barack Obama’s identity.
“A day hasn’t been set yet,” a source shared about Steele’s return with Page Six in a piece published Friday.
“She’ll be back on-air sometime next week,” the source added. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
ESPN anchor Sage Steele told Jay Cutler it was “fascinating” Obama indicated he was Black on his census form “considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found.” pic.twitter.com/dfrnDydFd8
— Resist Programming (@RzstProgramming) October 3, 2021
“There were multiple things that were concerning, and it was a collective decision along with Sage for her not to return this week,” the source continued. “It was the prudent thing to do [to not have her on-air this week].” (RELATED: ‘I Would Start With — I Had COVID’: NBA Player Responds To Reporter Asking Why He Doesn’t Want To Get Vaccinated)
During the “Sports Center” co-anchor’s appearance on “The Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast, Steele said the vaccine mandate from Disney, which owns ESPN, is “sick and scary,” Mediaite.com noted.
“I respect everyone’s decision. I really do,” the sports network star shared. “But to mandate it is sick, and it’s 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.”
At one point in the show, she also talked about Obama selecting “black” on the census when his “Black dad” was “nowhere to be found,” the report noted.
“Well, congratulations to the President,” Steele shared. “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.”
ESPN released a statement earlier this week responding to the Front Office report that she was reportedly suspended for a week and shared “at ESPN, we embrace different points of view — dialogue and discussion makes this place great,” The Hill noted.
ESPN’s Sage Steele apologizes for recent comments. ESPN said its’ having ‘direct conversations’ with Steele, who’s been ripped publicly by Jemele Hill, Keith Olbermann and others. pic.twitter.com/9gQuQHvjoI
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) October 5, 2021
“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,” ESPN added.
The woke mob wants to cancel ESPN star @SageSteele because she said the company’s vaccine mandate was “scary” to her “in many ways.”@dhookstead would like to remind people this is America, and it’s still okay to ask questions, question authority and think differently. pic.twitter.com/xXyLnYxPns
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 30, 2021
The network also posted a message from the sportscaster on Twitter in which she apologized after her “recent comments created controversy for the company.”
A source told Front Office the anchor also had reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 recently. Steele has been with the company for 15 years.