According to Ryan Clark, Sage Steele being a conservative was the worst-kept secret at ESPN.
Steele had been suspended and taken off of the air for 10 days in October 2021 following her appearance on Jay Cutler’s podcast, where she criticized the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, calling it “sick” and “scary.” Following her return to SportsCenter, Steele sued ESPN and Disney in April 2022, alleging that her contract was breached and her free speech rights were violated.
The legal dispute ended in a settlement, and Steele ultimately parted ways with the Worldwide Leader.
However, questions about the lawsuit still remain, such as Ryan Clark’s inclusion.
On the Michelle Tafoya podcast, the former Sunday Night Football sideline reporter mentioned that Steele’s lawsuit alleged that Clark would not go on set with her after her controversial remarks on Cutler’s podcast.
Was that part of her lawsuit false?
“No, so that part of her lawsuit wasn’t false,” Clark admitted. “Now, in truth, I have worked — or I did work with Sage after that. So, that is false in the sense that we never worked together after her Jay Cutler appearance. But, what did happen was I had no issue with Sage Steele being a conservative. I had no issue with Sage Steele’s vaccination stance… Sage Steele being a conservative was like the worst-kept secret at ESPN.
“I think it was 2017, in the Super Bowl at Houston, we were working together. And around that time, there were some things that people found insensitive about the way she addressed the travel ban protest at LAX. And at that time, her daughter was receiving some backlash, and being bullied because of her mother’s statements. And I sat with Sage that day and told her, ‘It doesn’t matter what your thoughts are. I don’t feel like your kids should be exposed to hate or evil or negativity because of what we said.’ I said, ‘I don’t feel like children should be involved in that.'”
Clark was there for her, and claims he talked her through that situation.
He also addressed Steele’s stance during Colin Kaepernick’s protest, which saw the now-former San Francisco 49ers quarterback kneel during the national anthem as a form of taking exception to police brutality against people of color.
“[Her stance] was very honest, and she felt a certain way,” said Clark. “I had no issue with that, and we remained, at least, cordial through all of those things. The one thing — and the only thing — I took offense to in her Jay Cutler interview was her saying that with President Obama’s father not being a part of his life, why would he want to consider himself Black?
“As a Black man who understands that no matter what President Obama decides to check off as his race, he’s going to be seen as an entire country as a Black man. He’s going to be viewed if policemen say, ‘The suspect is a Black, tall, slender, light-skinned man,’ President Obama would fit that description. He’s also a man that was married to a Black woman. He was also a man that was raising two young Black daughters. And I felt that was disrespectful to say, ‘Why would someone running with that blood running through their veins want to represent that culture?'”
And because of that, Clark was “uncomfortable” working with Steele.
“And what I told the producer that day, Michelle, was, ‘Hey, would it be possible if Matt Barrie was to ask me my questions?’If he was able to conduct my segment,” Clark relayed to Tafoya. “Because what I know is this… chemistry is a large part of TV. It’s a large part of our ability to be able to entertain. And I didn’t want my discomfort with what she said to show on screen.
“And so, that day, I asked, ‘Could Matt Barrie do my segment?’ They said, ‘No.’ And they said, ‘We’re going to have to tell Sage that,’ because they didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. And I was like, ‘I don’t either, which is why I’m asking for Matt to do that segment.’ A few weeks later, everything had blown over. My feelings weren’t the same. I felt like I could work with her in a very cordial way and be entertaining and respectful when she asked me questions. And so, I was able to work with her then, but for that day, I was uncomfortable doing.”
What’s Clark’s relationship like with Steele now?
With Steele no longer at ESPN, they no longer have a relationship.
“I obviously wish her all the best in all her endeavors,” Clark says. “She now has found a place where, entertainment-wise, she feels like she fits; she feels like she has a voice; and she has a passion. And I feel like we all should be entitled to that, whether you agree or disagree…”