Former ESPN Anchor Says She Was “Chewed Out” For Posting A Photo Of A Republican Congressman On Her Instagram Story

Imagine that…

ESPN has come under a lot of fire in recent years for injecting politics into their sports coverage through their personnel decisions and breathless praise for liberal-leaning activism from athletes and sports leagues. Their editorial decisions no doubt played a part in the 2% decline in viewers for the “Worldwide Leader In Sports” in 2024, and over the past few years the network has undergone several rounds of layoffs to try to right the sinking ship.

Of course ESPN is owned by Disney, which has its own problems with accusations of liberal bias. But ESPN’s audience is largely right of center, so the network’s liberal slant is sure to ruffle feathers among sports fans who tune into the network for an escape from politics.

Back in 2021, now-former ESPN anchor Sage Steele found herself at the middle of a firestorm after the network suspended her for comments she made during an episode of the Uncut with Jay Cutler podcast where she criticized the network for their COVID vaccine mandate, and also questioned why Barack Obama only calls himself black when he is (like Steele) biracial.

Steele ultimately parted ways with the network after filing a lawsuit alleging that she had been retaliated against by having opportunities taken away from her because of her political opinions, which was settled in 2023.

But she’s still not afraid to call out her former employer for their treatment of commentators with whom they don’t agree, especially when they seem to take a harsher stance on talking heads who express conservative opinions than they do those who are accused of actual criminal conduct.

Her latest comments on the issue came in the wake of the controversy surrounding Shannon Sharpe, the ESPN personality who was recently sued by a woman who claims he raped and sexually assaulted her during their 2-year relationship.

Sharpe has denied the allegations and called them a “shakedown,” but so far the network hasn’t taken any action against the host.

And look, I’m all for “innocent until proven guilty,” but suspending somebody because you disagree with her political opinions and then allowing somebody who’s accused of sexual assault to continue to appear on your network isn’t a great look – and Sage Steele was quick to point out the hypocrisy:

But Steele apparently wasn’t the only one who felt singled out for being conservative during their time at the network.

Former ESPN anchor Ashley Brewer Kaminsky, who formerly anchored SportsCenter as well as covering MMA for the network before being laid off in 2023, responded to Steele’s post claiming that she was “chewed out” by her bosses at the network for posting a picture of a Republican congressman and a UFC fighter on her Instagram story:

“Never forget when I got chewed out by my boss for posting a pic of a republican congressman & UFC fighter on my instagram story at the Mcgregor fight. LOL.”

And Steele quote tweeted her reply with a picture of the two together which Steele says also got the two in trouble for breaking COVID protocols – despite the fact that they sat side by side on air.

Insanity.

To their credit, ESPN seems to have realized that their liberal bias was harming their ratings and have said in the past that they’re trying to be more non-partisan, which is all anybody is asking for.

But when you have a long record of punishing conservative personalities, don’t be surprised when sports fans turn to other networks for their news and sports.