Sage Steele Refrains from Commenting on Reports of Republican Leaders Urging Her to Run for Congress

Former ESPN broadcaster and Indiana University (IU) alumna Sage Steele has declined to comment on recent reports suggesting that Republican leaders and donors from Washington and Connecticut are actively encouraging her to enter the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Initial reports from political news outlet Daily Ructions indicated that unnamed party leaders were interested in Steele’s potential candidacy for the 2024 election in Connecticut’s fifth district. The New York Post subsequently reported that exploratory conversations had taken place regarding Steele’s political aspirations.

In response to inquiries about these political developments, Steele conveyed her decision not to comment, stating, “No comment on this … but I appreciate you asking” via direct message on social media platform X.

Last month, Steele announced her departure from ESPN following the resolution of a lawsuit related to free speech.

“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele explained in a statement on X. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”

Steele’s tenure at ESPN spanned 16 years, during which she held various roles within the ESPN/Walt Disney network of channels. Her responsibilities included anchoring the 6 p.m. and noon editions of ESPN’s Sportscenter, hosting “NBA Countdown,” and presiding over the Scripps National Spelling Bee from 2010 to 2013, as well as co-hosting the Miss America pageants in 2017 and 2018.

If Steele decides to pursue a congressional run and secures the Republican party’s nomination, her potential opponent would be Democrat Jahana Hayes. Hayes secured her third term in Congress with a narrow 1,800-vote victory over state senator George Logan in 2022.

Steele’s legal dispute with ESPN originated in 2021 when her comments on a podcast with Jay Cutler ignited controversy. She criticized Walt Disney Co., ESPN’s parent company, for mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all employees, describing the mandate as “sick” and “scary.”

As a consequence of those remarks, Steele was temporarily taken off the air in September 2021. The controversy deepened due to other comments she made, including questioning former President Barack Obama’s identification as Black on the census and discussing the sexual harassment of women sports reporters.

Although Steele issued an apology in October 2021 for these comments, she filed a lawsuit against ESPN and the Walt Disney Corporation in April 2022. Her lawsuit alleged that she was coerced into apologizing “under threat of losing her job” and faced suspension due to her comments. Furthermore, Steele claimed that ESPN’s actions violated her right to free speech and displayed inconsistency in penalizing other employees who had made more politically and controversially charged statements.

Recently, Steele reached an out-of-court settlement with ESPN and Walt Disney. The terms of the settlement and her departure from the network have not been publicly disclosed.