'Different Rules for Me': Former ESPN Host Sage Steele Felt Singled Out Before Exit, Sits Down With Megyn Kelly to Blast 'Woke' Network

Former ESPN host Sage Steele said she felt there was a double standard at the network prior to her departure, RadarOnline.com has learned, sharing how liberating it is to finally regain her freedom of speech.

"I think that's just what breaks my heart, is that there were different rules for me than everyone else," the anchor told Megyn Kelly on her Sirius XM show Thursday.

Kelly agreed with her sentiments, having described ESPN as "one of the wokest, most vocal news organizations when it comes to political viewpoints of any of them."

Earlier this week, Steele settled a bombshell lawsuit she filed last year in April 2022 against the network, claiming she was sidelined in 2021 over her controversial statements about vaccine mandates, female sports reporters and former president Barack Obama's racial identity during a September 29 podcast episode of Uncut With Jay Cutler.

Steele argued that it violated her First Amendment rights and Connecticut free-speech laws, having since celebrated that she successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney.

The SportsCenter alum said she decided to leave so she can exercise her rights more freely, adding that she was grateful for "so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years" and is looking forward to the next chapter of her life.

"Listen, all I ever wanted was consistency," Steele admitted to Kelly. "And if we are allowing my peers to go on social media, much less on our own airwaves, saying things that have nothing to do with sports, that are political, that are not true — quite often because the parental rights [Don't Say Gay] bill in Florida is not what many people claim that it is. Most people apparently didn't take the time to read it."

"I should be allowed on my personal time to give my opinion on my experiences personally without telling others what to do or how to feel about being biracial or being forced to take a vaccine," she doubled down.

Steele said she was against apologizing for speaking her mind in 2021, but acquiesced so she could keep her role at ESPN. "I fought. And I fought. And I begged and I screamed," the TV personality told Kelly. "And I was told that if I want to keep my job, I have to apologize and I need my job. And I love my job."

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As we previously reported, Steele recently made headlines when she claimed legendary late broadcaster Barbara Walters assaulted her backstage at The View, having previously discussed her tension with Walters with Cutler.