EXCLUSIVE: Sage Steele Opens Up to Sean Hannity About How Her Kids Helped Push Her to Sue ESPN

Sage Steele revealed to Sean Hannity on the latest episode of his new podcast Hang Out with Sean Hannity that her children were a driving force in her decision to sue ESPN before she left the company.

In 2022, Steele — an anchor at ESPN at the time — sued the company when she felt she had been benched for publicly questioning the Covid-19 vaccine. Months earlier, she called ESPN’s vaccine policy “sick and scary” and said she only took the jab to protect her job. Steele claimed the company said she would be “sidelined” for the foreseeable future, and she was removed from a number of gigs even after she came back.

Sixteen months later, Steele announced on social media that she reached a settlement with ESPN and that she would be leaving the company. She’s since become a voice in independent media.

Steele revealed in the interview, which will air in full on Thursday morning, that she initially had no intention to sue her job. After speaking with her children, however, she went through with the lawsuit.

We asked first for an apology. It’s all we asked for. No, we’re not gonna sue. I love my job. Just please apologize to her. You made her do all this—the public apology—just apologize and we’ll drop it. And they laughed.

So they had their opportunity, but to be very honest with you—because it’s a great question—is that all you want, an apology? I already won. And I don’t mean with a settlement—I don’t mean in that way. I mean by finally not living in fear and standing up for what I knew to be right.

And this is super cheesy, but I’m gonna tell you this. The night before the lawsuit dropped, I talked to each one of my kids—one was in college, two were in high school—and I needed them to know and to understand what was coming the next day. Because every time I said something, then my kids would get—I mean—threats. And they track your kids down on social media, and coaches and teachers and parents say awful things to your kids because of your opinion, which is sick, and that’s a whole other topic. But my son in particular, who’s now 22, so he was 18 at the time, 17—I said, “I just want to apologize for what’s coming, and I’m sorry. And don’t ever feel like you have to defend me, okay? But just remember, when someone gives you crap about me, just remind them of the importance of diversity of thought and that we are all entitled to our opinion, including your mom— including your crazy mom. But that matters, and don’t defend me.” And my son looked at me and he said, “Mom, it’s about time you stood up for yourself.”

Watch above via Fox News Media and the full interview on Hannity’s YouTube channel.