XPost: alt.gossip.celebrities, alt.news-media, alt.politics.trump   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: whore@cnn.com   
      
   Sports anchor Sage Steele is off the air at ESPN after she   
   called vaccine mandates "sick" and "scary" and questioned why   
   former President Barack Obama identifies as Black even though he   
   was raised by his white mother.   
      
   Steele made the comments last week on the podcast Uncut with Jay   
   Cutler, and her removal from the air was reported by Front   
   Office Sports.   
      
   In a statement, the network said: "At ESPN, we embrace different   
   points of view - dialogue and discussion makes 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."   
      
   ESPN also shared a statement from Steele. "I know my recent   
   comments created controversy for the company, and I apologize,"   
   she said. "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."   
      
   Steele opined on vaccine mandates, Obama and women journalists   
   A week ago on the podcast, Steele told Cutler, a former NFL   
   quarterback, that she had just gotten her COVID-19 vaccine after   
   being required to by Disney, which owns ESPN.   
      
   "I respect everyone's decision. I really do. But to mandate it   
   is sick, and it's scary to me in many ways," she said. "But I   
   have a job, a job that I love and, frankly, a job that I need."   
      
   The COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to greatly reduce the risk   
   of hospitalization and death in people who are infected with the   
   coronavirus.   
      
   On the subject of race, Steele said she thought it was   
   "fascinating" that Obama identified himself as Black on the U.S.   
   census "considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found but   
   his white mom and grandma raised him."   
      
   Steele also said young female journalists bear some   
   responsibility for preventing any harassment they may face in   
   the male-dominated world of professional sports.   
      
   "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," she said.   
      
   Supporters and critics respond to Steele's comments   
   In a tweet, Cutler linked to a story about Steele getting pulled   
   off the air after appearing on his podcast and called it   
   "ridiculous."   
      
   Carron J. Phillips, a senior writer for Deadspin, noted a   
   contrast between how ESPN treated Steele and how it responded   
   when former anchor Jemele Hill called then-President Donald   
   Trump a "white supremacist," characterizing the company's   
   responses as "sooooooo different."   
      
   After Hill's comments drew scrutiny in 2017, the sports network   
   issued a statement saying: "The comments on Twitter from Jemele   
   Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of   
   ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her   
   actions were inappropriate."   
      
   Hill, in a tweet this week, said Steele's remarks on Obama and   
   up-and-coming female sports reporters amounted to "clown   
   behavior."   
      
   For the record, Jemele Hill is a racist nigger whore.   
      
   https://www.npr.org/2021/10/06/1043680295/espn-sage-steele-   
   vaccines-obama   
      
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