ESPN and host Sage Steele have settled a lawsuit she filed after being disciplined for feedback she made concerning the firm’s coverage requiring workers to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19.

Steele posted on social media Tuesday that she is leaving the Bristol, Connecticut-based firm, the place she has labored since 2007.

“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” she wrote. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”

Steele was taken off the air for 10 days in October 2021 and pulled from a number of high-profile assignments, together with together with protection of the New York City Marathon, the Rose Parade, and the annual ESPNW Summit, as a result of she criticized ESPN and The Walt Disney Co.’s requirement that workers be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, in accordance with her lawsuit, which was filed in May 2022 in Connecticut Superior Court.

She additionally was required to make a public apology, the lawsuit mentioned.

Steele’s feedback important of ESPN got here whereas she was talking on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler and simply after getting the vaccine herself to adjust to the coverage, in accordance with her lawsuit.

She mentioned that whereas she revered everybody’s determination to get vaccinated, she believed {that a} company mandate was “sick” and “scary to me in many ways.” She additionally indicated that she didn't wish to get vaccinated however did so to maintain her job and help her household, in accordance with the lawsuit.

Steele additionally mentioned on the podcast that she identifies as biracial and questioned former President Barack Obama’s determination to determine himself as Black on the current U.S. Census. She additionally mentioned that feminine journalists “need to be responsible as well” if inappropriate feedback are directed at them primarily based on how they’re dressed.

ESPN “forced Steele to apologize, allowed media to destroy her, and let media reports that she had been suspended go unchallenged, and allowed Steele’s colleagues to defame her in violation of company policy without so much as a reprimand,” her attorneys wrote within the lawsuit.

In June, ESPN supplied to settle the lawsuit for simply over $500,000 plus attorneys charges and prices.

The phrases of the settlement disclosed Tuesday weren't instantly made public, and Steele’s attorneys didn't instantly return emails looking for remark.

ESPN issued an announcement confirming solely Steele’s departure from the community.

“ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways,” spokesman Josh Krulewitz wrote. “We thank her for her many contributions over the years.”

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