Longtime 'SportsCenter' anchor leaving ESPN after lawsuit settlement

Steele sued her now-former employer, alleging that it violated her First Amendment rights and free-speech rights in Connecticut, where ESPN is largely based. 

On a podcast with former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, Steele expressed fears over Disney's COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the height of the global pandemic in 2020 and 2021, questioned the racial identity of former President Barack Obama in context of the United States Census and stated that some of her fellow female journalists dress provocatively for attention.

Steele apologized for her comments after intense backlash. While others who worked at ESPN were disciplined for their own controversial comments, Steele believed that she was pulled off-air for two days as a suspension of sorts, something ESPN denied.

In June, Steele declined the company's settlement offer, with her attorney telling Front Office Sports that "Disney cannot purchase their employee’s constitutional rights no matter how powerful they think they are."

It should be noted that the actual text of the First Amendment of the Constitution refers to the government punishing citizens for their expression of speech and not to private companies such as Disney: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

However, there must have been a reason why Disney agreed to a settlement, and perhaps another reason why Steele chose to continue working at the company while engaged in a lawsuit. Since both sides mutually agreed to the agreement before the scheduled trial in March 2024, those reasons may never come to light.