Sage Steele recently opened up about the amount of racially charged comments that she receives presumably from detractors via social media.
The host of ESPN SportsCenter On The Road and NBA Countdown, Steele 44, addressed the issue of racism directed at her while moderating the “Under Our Skin” forum at a Tampa, Florida, church.
A few weeks ago, Steele drew strong criticism and ridicule from the social justice cohort on Twitter as well as those in her own profession for an Instagram message about the airport protests against President Trump’s temporary travel ban on seven Middle Eastern countries.
While noting that she missed her flight from LAX to Houston in the run-up to the Super Bowl, Steele expressed sadness on Instagram about elderly people and parents with small children whose travel plans were similarly disrupted.
During the Florida conference about the intersection of race and faith, Sage Steele addressed the subject of racism as it affects her personally, The Daily Wire reported .
“There are times that I believe that we, as African-Americans, can be hypocritical, and that is to not look ourselves in the mirror when we are saying certain things and blaming other groups for one thing when we are doing the exact same thing. The worst racism that I have received [as a biracial woman married to white man], and I mean thousands and thousands over the years, is from black people, who in my mind thought would be the most accepting because there has been that experience. But even as recent as the last couple of weeks, the words that I have had thrown at me I can’t repeat here and it’s 99 percent from people with my skin color. But if a white person said those words to me, what would happen?”
ESPN anchor Sage Steele claims she has experienced the ‘worst racism’ from Black folks https://t.co/san7XtKeTG pic.twitter.com/j6G11cigZ3
— NewsOne (@newsone) February 27, 2017
According to NewsOne , Steele added that “How do we, [with Christianity] as our foundation, address this honestly with each other and these communities? Because to me, if we don’t start with ourselves in any issue, how can you point the fingers at somebody else?”
Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy and Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson (wose book gave the conference its name) also spoke at the forum. NFL Hall of Famer Dungy said at the forum that he agreed with the sentiments expressed by Sage Steele, the Washington Times detailed . “Mr. Watson said people need to do a better job of understanding the different sides of the racial debate,” the Times added.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBwjsq2rquU
Sage Steele’s latest comments have also prompted outrage on social media, some of which is of the vulgar variety. Several liberal websites have also condemned her allegations about black racism.
“Although she was only recounting her personal experience, many Twitter users appeared to take Steele’s remarks as blaming the black community for racism in America…While Sage Steele continues to face backlash for sharing her views, she’s shown no indication that she plans to stop anytime soon,” the Independent Journal Review observed .
Steele’s remarks appear to run counter to the dominant Disney-owned ESPN narrative, which through its on-air talent has gone full-on social justice warrior about politics, something that the network’s public editor (i.e., ombudsman) has acknowledged. In an essay on the ESPN website published in December 2016, Jim Brady conceded that the self-described Worldwide Leader in Sports has moved in a leftward direction, thereby alienating some viewers. For whatever reason or combination of reasons, ESPN is reportedly losing 10,000 subscribers per day .
In November, Sage Steele — whose father is a retired U.S. Army colonel and the first black player on Army’s varsity football team — criticized Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans for kneeling during the National Anthem to protest the election of President Trump.
Hey @MikeEvans13_ look up definition of the word DEMOCRACY & remember this pic while kneeling/exercising your right to protest #perspective pic.twitter.com/kGruy3wEDe
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) November 14, 2016
A video of Sage Steele’s remarks at The Crossing Church in Tampa about racism has yet to surface; watch this space for updates.
[Featured Image by Scott Roth/Invision/AP Images]