ESPN’s Sage Steele was under fire in September 2021 after she appeared on Uncut with Jay Cutler and expressed her thoughts on The Walt Disney Company’s mandate for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. She stated that she did not want to receive the vaccine but did so in order to keep her job. Despite making other comments that raised debate, her comments pertaining to the vaccine reportedly perturbed ESPN leadership.
The company coerced Steele to apologize in a statement and duly suspended her thereafter. Upon her return, she was removed from various coveted assignments, such as the Rose Parade and New York City Marathon.
Steele filed a lawsuit against ESPN and The Walt Disney Company last April, and the legal battle is beginning to intensify in the Connecticut Superior Court. Her lawyer’s argument is that Connecticut does not allow private employers to discipline their employees when they engage in speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, the location of that speech notwithstanding. She ascertains that since the comments were stated “on her own time and on matters of significant public interest,” they are protected under the law.
Additionally, it is noted how the company neglected to discipline co-workers who criticized and/or harassed Steele for her viewpoints. Steele initially filed a human resources complaint with the company last February, and she was quickly offered the chance to co-host The Masters Tournament. Her attorneys call the move “a blatant admission of liability,” and compelled Steele to file a lawsuit two months later.
“If you’re an anchor for a network, you are the face of that network,” Devin McRae, a partner at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, told Variety. “And anytime somebody is the public face of the company, and they start talking about the company, they might be opening themselves up to some kind of discipline from the company, including termination. But Connecticut has this interesting law that protects her.”
ESPN’s executive editor and head of event and studio production Norby Williamson told Steele during her suspension that she had “whacked the company” and checked in to see if she was okay. Former senior vice president of production and content strategy Jill Frederickson told Steele of colleagues who were hurt by the comments, but purportedly was looking to get a response by asking others directly for their thoughts.
The Walt Disney Company is currently in the midst of a lawsuit against Florida governor Ron DeSantis, alleging it was punished after publicly criticizing the Parental Rights in Education Act. The legislation, colloquially referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, prohibits instruction pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity to students ranging from kindergarten to the third grade.
After its public statements, DeSantis signed a bill that revoked the company’s control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, instead being subject to oversight by Orange County. Following arguments by Disney that it could not happen after the state paid $1 billion of outstanding bond debt, DeSantis called for a special legislative session to finalize the decision. In the end, Disney was granted the ability to retain its special tax district; however, DeSantis was bestowed the ability to appoint a board governing it, which he subsequently stacked in his favor. Little did DeSantis know that the outgoing board completed an agreement that transferred a preponderance of control back to The Walt Disney Company, rendering the new board somewhat impotent. Once the new board approved a resolution nullifying the secret deal, Disney sued DeSantis.
“I wholeheartedly agree with Disney’s position that in America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind,” Steele said in a statement. “In my opinion, it begins and ends with diversity of thought. We must fight to preserve that fundamental constitutional right.”
Just how Steele’s lawsuit ends up unfolding could guide the progression of the case involving DeSantis, who is now vying for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
“This case is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s retaliating against Sage Steele for exercising her right to free speech under Connecticut law,” said attorney Bryan Freedman, who has been in private meditation with the company. “Disney’s legal position concerning the actions that led to this lawsuit with Sage Steele is a significant legal inconsistency that could cause Disney self-inflicted harm in the Florida courts. Disney should be very careful here.”
