Sage Steele Complains That ESPN’s Vaccine Mandate Is ‘Sick’ and ‘Scary’

Dessi Gomez
·2 min read
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In discussion with ex-NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, ESPN’s Sage Steele complained that her employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is “sick” and “scary.”

That didn’t stop her from complying with it, however. Appearing on Cutler’s podcast, the host of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and “SportsCenter on the Road,” and “Up Close with Sage Steele” on ESPN+, demonstrated the effectiveness of vaccine mandates when she said she got the shot in order to keep her job.

“I got my shot today,” she said to Cutler when he noticed the bandaid on her arm. “I didn’t want to do it, but I work for a company that mandates it and I had until September 30th to get it done or I’m out.”

“I respect everyone’s decision,” she said. “I really do. But to mandate it is sick and it’s scary to me in many ways. But, I have a job. A job that I love, and frankly, a job that I need, but again I love it. I just — I’m not surprised it got to this point, especially with Disney, I mean a global company like that.”

693,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 — more than 200,000 of them this year, despite the widespread availability — and zero cost — of vaccines. However, Steele is for some reason bummed out about being protected from the deadly illness.

“Everybody else has their ‘Yay look, here’s my [vaccine] card’ … You wanna see what my face looked like when I had to do it?” she said. “I think the mandate is what I really have an issue with. I don’t know what comes next, but I do know for me personally I feel… defeated.”

Steele isn’t the only vaccine-hesitant ESPN employee. Reporter Alison Williams was recently pulled off their air after refusing to get vaccinated. And also like Williams, during the interview with Cutler, Steele attempted to imply that being a mother influenced her decision making when it comes to COVID.

Other topics covered during Steel’s talk with Cutler included her conservative political views, and the state of things at ESPN. You can listen at this link.

ESPN declined to comment.