Fox News host Laura Ingraham spawned years of memes when she told LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” when he dared to criticize Donald Trump. And now former ESPN anchor Sage Steele is following in her footsteps.
Ingraham’s message to James was one of the foundational pieces of the “stick to sports” movement. In 2018, she gave that message to James and other athletes who dared to question the dear leader and use their platform as influential persons to dare talk about politics. Of course, athletes have always been outspoken about societal issues from Muhammad Ali to Arthur Ashe. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the “stick to sports” push is really just code for “agree with my politics.”
During the second Trump administration, influential figures are speaking out even more about the overreach, oppression, and naked corruption seen throughout the federal government. And at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, a wide variety of artists spoke out against Trump and the most shocking of those overreaches – the daily horrors and terror brought by ICE to Minneapolis and immigrant communities beyond.
Standing up for unity and humanity was too much to bear for Sage Steele, naturally. And in an appearance on Fox News, she played the role of conservative gatekeeper perfectly as she attempted to put those artists in their place by telling them, like Laura Ingraham told LeBron James long ago, to shut up and sing.
Steele: Shut up and sing because you don’t know what you’re talking about. pic.twitter.com/VDRl9CqQg3
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 3, 2026
“We’re all here because of legal immigration. It’s the illegal part and the fact they choose to ignore those facts, but then spew silly opinions like Billie Eilish, which was comical what she said. This is why ‘shut up and dribble,’ shut up and sing. Because you’re super talented, but you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Steele said.
How original.
The irony of a former sports anchor telling musicians that they don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to politics is really striking. But in an era where Michele Tafoya can base a United States senate campaign off of her experience asking questions to football coaches on television, maybe anything is possible.
Sage Steele famously left ESPN after a lengthy legal battle in 2023 so that she could spread her wings as a conservative talker. So far, that has consisted of hosting podcasts and Fox News appearances where she mimics years-old talking points. Maybe some day someone will turn her own logic back around on herself and ask why a former SportsCenter anchor is so qualified to be the thought police of America.
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