Sage Steele apologizes days after saying ESPN mandating vaccine was 'sick' and 'scary'
ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele issued an apology on Tuesday days after she made comments ripping her company vaccine mandate.
Steele made the comments on “Uncut with Jay Cutler” podcast, telling the former NFL quarterback about Disney's policy concerning the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I work for a company that mandates it and I had until September 30th to get it done or I’m out," Steele told Cutler. "I respect everyone’s decision, I really do, but to mandate it is sick and it’s scary to me in many ways."
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the vaccine is safe and effective.
"I know my recent comments created controversy for the company, and I apologize. We are in the midst of an extremely challenging time that impacts all of us, and it's more critical than ever that we communicate constructively and thoughtfully," Steele said in a statement.
ESPN did not say in an adjoining statement whether Steele was disciplined for her comments.
"At ESPN, we embrace different points of view – dialogue and discussion makes this place great," the company said. "That said, we expect that those points of view be expressed respectfully, in a manner consistent with our values, and in line with our internal policies. We are having direct conversations with Sage and those conversations will remain private."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sage Steele apologizes for comments about ESPN's COVID vaccine mandate
