Sage Steele Shannon Sharpe Sage Steele Shannon Sharpe
By Ben Axelrod on

Despite Shannon Sharpe facing a lawsuit accusing him of assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, ESPN has yet to even publicly respond to the allegations against the Hall of Fame tight end. Not only that, but Sharpe remained a part of Monday and Tuesday’s episodes of First Take, even as he and his accuser publicly traded haymakers, including the release of salacious text messages and threatening audio recordings.

As a former ESPN star herself, Sage Steele has taken notice of her former employer’s handling of the Sharpe situation. Especially with regard to how it has differed from her own treatment at the network, which pulled her from the air in late-2021 after she made controversial comments about its COVID-19 vaccine policy and former President Barack Obama.

“There’s a long list of examples where ESPN/Disney considers having conservative viewpoints a much greater offense than questionable character,” Steele replied to a post on X echoing similar sentiments.

Steele’s post elicited a response from fellow ex-ESPNer Ashley Brewer Kaminsky, who said that she was once “chewed out” by her boss for posting a picture of a Republican congressman and a UFC fighter at a Conor McGregor fight to her Instagram story. Brewer was let go by ESPN as a part of the company’s layoffs in the summer of 2023.

While these aren’t apples to apples comparisons — and one can certainly question the political aspect to all of it — Steele’s history with ESPN does make for an interesting comparison point. If her comments about COVID and Obama were enough to reach the threshold for the Disney-owned network to take her off the air (and perhaps rightfully so), then one would imagine that the accusations against Sharpe and his public handling of the situation would too.

Only that hasn’t been the case, with ESPN keeping the 56-year-old on air and ignoring the situation publicly (unless you count the statement that ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro laundered through Stephen A. Smith’s independent podcast). And until the Worldwide Leader in Sports takes action — or even a public stance — on the serious allegations, then it’s understandable why other employees who have been punished over the years like Sage Steele would accuse the network of hypocrisy.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod