Sage Steele covered every NBA Finals for ESPN from 2012 to 2020, but the former SportsCenter anchor has since distanced herself from the Association — and some of its most prominent faces are part of the reason why.
Steele, 53, blasted the league’s head coaches, including Hall of Famer Doc Rivers, in an appearance on Dave Rubin’s “The Rubin Report,” alleging he berated her over social media for her politics.
“Just knowing that so many of them are full of s*** with what they say versus what they do,” she said on the Wednesday, August 19 episode. “And seeing the passive aggressiveness from some of these head coaches, whether it’s Steve Kerr or Doc Rivers — these people that I used to call a friend, especially Doc.”
Steele said that Rivers, 64, objected to her vocal support of President Donald Trump. Rivers has been a longtime critic of the President, dating back to his first campaign in 2016.
“I’m going to show you later, the DMs from this man,” Steele said. “Pages and pages of why I’m such an idiot to be a Republican or conservative and support Donald Trump. Out of the blue, he would send me clips, and I’m like, ‘I just want to talk basketball with you’ or ‘How are your kids…?’”
She continued, “Instead, it’s, ‘I’m so disappointed’ and the sellout thing with a coach. That’s what turns people off with sports. It doesn’t mean you can’t have that opinion. I did too. I just happened to not do it when I was working in sports.”
While Rivers and Kerr, 60, have been outspoken about their views, Steele hasn’t held back either. She was suspended from ESPN in 2021 for controversial comments she made about the COVID-19 vaccine, former President Barack Obama and more. She sued the network a year later, alleging that the suspension violated her free speech rights and amounted to a breach of contract.
Steele and ESPN settled their lawsuit in August 2023 and she left the company.
In an April 2026 interview with Sean Hannity, Steele recalled talking to her kids about the lawsuit, asking them not to go out of their way to defend her.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Steele also told them, “‘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.’”
