Riley Gaines, Sage Steele, and other women’s sports advocates are warning about a possible NCAA loophole that could allow trans-identifying male athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ncaas-new-trans-participation-policy-as-clear-mud-riley-gaines-says?utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=later-linkinbio">Fox News</a>, the former collegiate female swimmer said that the new NCAA policy is &#8220;explicitly in conflict&#8221; with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which bans biological men from competing in women’s sports.
NCAA announced its new policy for “student-athletes &#8216;assigned male at birth&#8217; and their participation on women’s teams” following Trump’s EO, which uses “gender identity” language instead of male and female definition for sex. And it is this “gender identity” language that has Gaines and other advocates for girls sports concerned.
&#8220;No. 1, first and foremost, this policy removes all accountability from the NCAA, which, of course, is something that has been on their minds for a long time,&#8221; Gaines said. &#8220;It provides loopholes for both states and schools because it does not define sex, which we have seen now is a problem, unfortunately.”
“I mean, it’s wild we have to define sex-based terms like male and female, but we’ve seen what happens when we don’t,” she added. “We see unelected bureaucrats go through the back door and reinterpret these words to mean what they want them to mean.”
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&#8220;So, it doesn’t define sex, it doesn’t define male or female, but it does define gender identity,” Gaines continued. “And it defines gender identity as both man and woman. So, of course, you can see where that’s a problem. The qualifications for how they do deem and assign sex is based on your birth certificate, which of course is a piece of paper that we have now seen that can be totally forged and fraudulent.&#8221;
Gaines pointed out the fact that 44 states allow a birth certificate to be altered to change a person’s birth sex.
&#8220;This policy explicitly allows men and women on the women’s team. No matter how you read it, men are still allowed to receive women’s benefits, which includes access to their locker rooms,&#8221; Gaines said. “There’s no screening. There’s no oversight. All of those and more are just a few reasons why this NCAA policy is certainly problematic.”
Gaines&#8217; comments follow ones by former ESPN host Sage Steele who wrote on X, “So @realDonaldTrump signs an EO to protect women’s sports, and this is how the @NCAA amended its policy: men who identify as women can still practice with women, dress in women’s spaces, and even receive scholarships meant for women.  Shame on you @CharlieBakerMA.”
“To be clear: many women’s sports have men PRACTICE with them,” she <a href="https://x.com/sagesteele/status/1892287057826869625">added</a>. “With parameters, of course.  All good. The rest of it is the issue. The common sense stuff. Again, Congress needs to pass The Protection of Women &amp; Girls in Sports Act to FORCE the @NCAA and states like California to comply. @SenTuberville.”
A spokesperson for the NCAA told the outlet, “The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and athletes assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID.”
Despite NCAA comments, Gaines expressed concern and said &#8220;the policy is as clear as mud.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/espn-torched-for-woke-post-about-trumps-eo-banning-men-from-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN Torched For Woke Post About Trump’s EO Banning Men From Women’s Sports</a>

Capitol Hill

Riley Gaines, Sage Steele Warn About Possible NCAA Loophole For Trans-Identifying Male Athletes

Riley Gaines, Sage Steele Warn Against Possible NCAA Loophole For Trans-Identifying Male Athletes

Donald Trump

Riley Gaines

Sage Steele

Sports

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

Women's sports

Podcaster and former ESPN host Sage Steele took aim at the use of what is referred to as the “black national anthem” — “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — saying that performing it at major sporting events is divisive in America, and it&#8217;s being shoved &#8220;down people’s throats.”
Speaking with comedian, actor, and musician Reggie Watts on &#8220;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sage-steele-show/id1737682826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>,&#8221; Steele stated, “I never intended to stir the pot, but now I don’t care. &#8230; I don’t like this whole black national anthem thing.”
“What’s the black national anthem?&#8221; Watts responded.
“See?” Steele pointed out.
“What’s that?” Watts repeated.
“Well, it’s newer the last couple of years and it’s at the Super Bowl,” Steele explained. “And it’s been at a couple of major sporting events, and it’s ‘Lift Every Voice,’ and that&#8217;s sung now before the national anthem and it’s called the black national anthem.”
“It’s a blanthem,” Watts suggested.
“It’s a blanthem,” Steele agreed. She continued:
<blockquote>
Let’s call it that. Hashtag blanthem. Maybe if it were that I would not think it were so ridiculous and divisive. &#8230; With the hashtag we’re good. Cool. To me, and again I’m sensitive, because I’ve been told — Dude, we’re one big melting pot. This is good. Why are we now choosing to separate again when we’ve been in a tough time here the past several years, to say, “This is only our anthem, but y’all better stand up. Get you’re a** up.” &#8230;I think we’re all Americans and it’s our anthem; and all the immigrants from across the world that have come here stand up for our anthem. They’re all Americans.
</blockquote>
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“First of all, the fact that you didn’t even know,” she said to Watts. “What’s that? The black national anthem. Because it’s new and they’re shoving it down people’s throats. What are we doing?”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Black National Anthem Promotes Segregation" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/89kD7SdoMhU?start=86&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In April, Steele told Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, “I think one of the biggest things that has made me so divisive and disliked and at least parts not all for sure, but parts of the black community is my conversation about being biracial. So if I’m asked and if I’m filling out a census … I’m going to check black and white, you know, my dad’s black, my mom is white.”
“I’m so proud of both. And for some reason that’s controversial,” she continued, adding that she would expect her family’s racial makeup to be celebrated by those who constantly push for more diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“And I just was always confused by that and like, why isn’t my family the actual perfect definition of diversity and tolerance and acceptance and inclusion?” Steele asked.
“Why is it bad that I love my mom as much as my dad and want to celebrate her as well? And when I was crushed for that a few times, I got ticked off. I’m like, enough. This is total B.S.,” she said. “And it’s actually complete hypocrisy, the opposite of what we are preaching of diversity and tolerance and acceptance.”
Zach Jewell contributed to this article. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-total-b-s-sage-steele-slams-hypocrisy-of-left-pushing-diversity-and-tolerance-during-interview-with-ben-shapiro">‘This Is Total B.S.’: Sage Steele Slams ‘Hypocrisy’ Of Left Pushing ‘Diversity And Tolerance’ During Interview With Ben Shapiro</a>

Sage Steele On The ‘Black National Anthem’: ‘They’re Shoving It Down People’s Throats’

Sage Steele On 'Black National Anthem': 'They're Shoving It Down People's Throats'

black national anthem

Racism

Super Bowl

Former ESPN anchor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-hill-i-will-die-on-sage-steele-says-espn-told-her-not-to-talk-about-lia-thomas-she-disobeyed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage Steele</a> came to Kansas City Chief’s kicker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chiefs-kicker-harrison-butkers-jersey-sales-soar-after-leftists-melt-down-over-his-commencement-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harrison Butker</a>’s defense following the kicker’s commencement speech that caused a leftist meltdown, blasting the silence from the left over “hateful” pro-Palestine campus protests with &#8220;death to Jews&#8221; calls.
In a video posted on <a href="https://x.com/sagesteele/status/1792299708167151761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X</a>, Steele said she couldn’t believe the attacks against the placekicker over his speech to the graduates at Benedictine College — when he praised his wife for being a “homemaker,” called out President Joe Biden’s support for abortion, and criticized LGBTQ “Pride month.”
&#8220;I am so saddened at the criticism that has come this man&#8217;s way just because he voiced his opinion,&#8221; Steele said. “Doesn&#8217;t mean you have to agree with everything he said, right. Diversity of thought.”
“I&#8217;ve been preaching that since long before I left ESPN and I will never stop preaching it because that is what&#8217;s right,&#8221; she added, noting that she didn’t agree with “every single thing Butker said.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Harrison Butker….please don’t change. 🙏🏽 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/diversityofthought?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#diversityofthought</a><a href="https://twitter.com/buttkicker7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@buttkicker7</a> <a href="https://t.co/jx0MDEsQhi">pic.twitter.com/jx0MDEsQhi</a>
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) <a href="https://twitter.com/sagesteele/status/1792299708167151761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I know women, women who are close friends of mine, who actually are quite content in life without having kids, whether it was their specific choice, they didn&#8217;t want to become a mother or they couldn&#8217;t and are now at peace with it…” Steele continued. “For me that would not have been the case. And I am so grateful and blessed that I am a mother times three. And that by far is my best accomplishment and something I’m most proud of. The best job I’ll ever, have being a mother.”
Steele then asked why it was acceptable to judge one person based on his opinion, calling “so many parts of [Butker&#8217;s speech] beautiful” and blasting the NFL for releasing a statement affirming that, as an organization — one that represents thousands of people — it didn’t “align with” Butker’s views.
&#8220;How cool is it as a woman to hear your spouse praise you and have such gratitude towards you?” the former sports anchor said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a beautiful thing. Isn&#8217;t that pro woman? That&#8217;s the way I took it.”
“I’m just saddened at all of the negativity that surrounds him,” she added. “And how about the hypocrisy. Where were all these people on college campuses over the last couple of months…if you are hateful towards others and doing [calls] ‘death to Jews’ and being threatening towards Jewish people. Where were all of you with your statements then denouncing the pure hatred?”
“Instead you are denouncing a man who is uplifting women?” Steele continued. “I just don’t get it. Harrison Butker has a right to believe what he wants to believe. Harrison Butker thank you for your courage. Don’t change. We need you.” 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-total-b-s-sage-steele-slams-hypocrisy-of-left-pushing-diversity-and-tolerance-during-interview-with-ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘This Is Total B.S.’: Sage Steele Slams ‘Hypocrisy’ Of Left Pushing ‘Diversity And Tolerance’ During Interview With Ben Shapiro</a>

‘We Need You’: Former ESPN Anchor Comes To Harrison Butker’s Defense, Calls Out Hypocrisy On Left Silent Over ‘Hateful’ Campus Protests

Sage Steele Comes To Harrison Butker's Defense, Calls Out Hypocrisy On Left Silent Over 'Hateful' Campus Protests

Celebrities

Entertainment

Harrison Butker

The Daily Wire’s first animated comedy series “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mr-birchum-series-premiere-event-drops-tonight">Mr. Birchum</a>” goes where mainstream comedy won’t, a respite from the woke agenda everywhere one looks.
Created by comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/adam-carolla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Carolla</a>, “Mr. Birchum” is headed by Carolla as the voice of no-nonsense junior high woodshop teacher, Mr. Birchum, along with a star-studded cast which includes Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/brett-cooper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brett Cooper</a>, journalist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/megyn-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a>, comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/roseanne-barr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roseanne Barr</a>, and so many more. 
“Whatever turn society takes and whatever bothers regular folk, normal people, we will skewer,” Carolla said on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a> about what viewers can expect of the new DailyWire+ show. “So Birchum just sort of represents normal people who don’t get any of this crap. And that’s what you should expect Birchum to attack.”
“At a certain point, this stuff started being forced upon us and fed to us, and then I think that was the problem, like a lot of normal people [said], ‘I don’t want to know your pronouns, or I don’t want to embrace the trans movement, or Hamas, or anything like that, and I like to walk outside without a mask,’” he added.
The first episode premiered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusively</a> on Sunday, May 12 on Daily Wire+ and deals with Birchum coming face to face with his new nemesis, fanatical social justice warrior, Karponzi voiced by comedian Tyler Fischer, who tries to enact his woke agenda on his new school.
The woodshop teacher’s foes not only include Karponzi but indoctrinated, snowflake students and a school board that’s jumped in head first to adopt the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) agenda.
<h3>Origin Of “Mr. Birchum”</h3>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adam-carolla-tells-ben-shapiro-the-origin-of-mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carolla</a> recently talked about the origin of “Mr. Birchum,” telling Daily Wire’s Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro that, “this is a project that’s been 30 years in the making.”
<div id="attachment_737709" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-737709" class="size-large wp-image-737709" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-384x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 07: Adam Carolla attends the Mr. Birchum Series Premiere on May 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+)" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-1360x2040.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989414-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes=" (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+</div>
“In 1994, I was a boxing coach. I was training Jimmy Kimmel to box. Jimmy, the sports guy back then, for KROQ radio, for a morning stunt. He thought I was funny. He said, ‘I think I can get you on the radio. But you’ve got to come up with a character,&#8217;” Carolla explained.
He continued, “I said, ‘I don’t do characters.’ He said, ‘You better come up with one.’ And I came up with a character called Mr. Birchum. Thirty years ago on KROQ radio in Los Angeles for the morning show.”
Carolla said the character “immediately became insanely popular” and added, “This is how I got into show business.”
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: &#8220;Mr. Birchum&#8221; now on DailyWire+</a></h4>
Next, Shapiro asked about the character and what he represents. “Who was the character? Why did it become so popular?” he asked.
“He’s an amalgamation of every mean shop teacher I had in junior high,” Carolla replied. “I went to Walter Reed Junior High, and I had Mr. Gage and Mr. Smith and all these horrible shop teachers. They were angry guys with big mustaches and big forearms who loved woodworking and hated kids.”
“Even as a 13- or 14-year-old, I thought it was interesting that these guys went to school every day to work with kids, but hated kids,” he added.
“They loved their shop. And they looked at it as their shop, and the kids were sort of a nuisance and an annoyance who were coming in and who were using their tools. That’s sort of the approach for every shop teacher I had,” Carolla continued. “And so, as I went through life, I would tell people, ‘Did you ever have a mean shop teacher?’ And they’d go, ‘Oh, mine was the worst!’”
Carolla said, “I sort of realized everyone had a shared experience of the horrible, mean shop teachers. And I thought, I’ve never seen an ‘SNL’ sketch about a mean shop teacher. No one has captured this guy. But I’ll capture him. And that’s where Mr. Birchum was born.”
Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing, who is the executive producer of the series, previously said, “Hollywood wouldn’t make ‘Birchum’ today because they’ve stopped making comedies altogether for fear of offending the ‘wrong’ people – so we realized we had to do it.”
“We teamed up with Adam and some of the funniest people we know – Roseanne, Rob Riggle, Patrick Warburton, Fischer, and so many more – to bring back the irreverent patriarch in a truly hilarious comedy that doesn’t care who it offends,” Boreing added.
<h3>Star-Studded Cast</h3>
<div id="attachment_737723" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-737723" class="size-large wp-image-737723" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 07: Roseanne Barr attends the Mr. Birchum Series Premiere on May 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989360-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+</div>
Carolla-who brings to life Birchum-is joined by his family— wife Wendi, voiced by the host of “The Megyn Kelly Show”; son Eddie, voiced by Kyle Dunnigan; and stepdaughter Jeanie, voiced by The Daily Wire’s very own host of “The Comments Section with Brett Cooper,” partnered with Birchum’s friend Gage, voiced by Alonzo Bodden.
Other celebs involved in the project include Sage Steele (Deena), Danny Trejo (Switchblade), Warburton (Burly Man), Jay Mohr (Coach Murphy), Riggle (Gunderson), and Barr as Principal Bortles.
During the Sirius XM “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-need-a-guy-like-birchum-more-than-ever-cast-of-mr-birchum-discusses-new-comedy-on-the-megyn-kelly-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Megyn Kelly Show</a>” podcast, the host and Carolla talked about the series and the insanity of the radical anti-America and anti-Israel protesters on college campuses across the country, with Kelly saying the country needs more Birchums in school.
“I will say, the timing for this is perfect,” the host said. “But we need a guy like Birchum more than ever. We could use more like Mr. Birchum in our K-12 and college education right now because we are producing a bunch of soft [people].”
<div id="attachment_737717" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-737717" class="size-large wp-image-737717" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 07: Megyn Kelly attends the Mr. Birchum Series Premiere on May 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151989559-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+</div>
Cooper was also on the show where she and Kelly joked about being mom and daughter on “Mr. Birchum.”
The Daily Wire host said she grew up as a child actor in Los Angeles for ten years and later went to college at UCLA. During the pandemic, she said her life changed and it was then she decided to speak out about “politics, values, current events, and culture” by making videos online, becoming a voice for the Right for a generation that was inundated with leftist ideology.
<h3>Hollywood Launch Party</h3>
Ahead of the launch of the new animated series on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/photos-star-studded-mr-birchum-premiere-in-l-a-creates-buzz-for-adam-carollas-new-comedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire+</a>, the stars of the show hit the red carpet at Academy LA in Los Angeles for the series premiere. Besides the star-studded cast, there were also quite a few VIP guests in attendance for what’s shaping up to be the most hilarious, unapologetic comedy of the year.
Besides the cast of “Mr. Birchum,” plenty of other famous faces were spotted at the event and on the red carpet. Ben Savage, Dennis Prager, T.J. Miller, Audriix, Razzle Dangerously, Lori “Ice” Fetrick, Rose Reid, Rick Thorne, Jonathan Kite, Tia Carrere, Amala Ekpunobi, and Chef Rush all turned up to show support for the new sitcom.
Executive producers Mike August and Nate Adams, head writer Mike Lynch, supervising producer Curtis Koller, and The Daily Wire’s Co-CEO/Executive Producer Boreing, Co-CEO/Executive Producer Caleb Robinson, COO Jon Lewis, and podcast host Michael Knowles were all there, too.
“Mr. Birchum” is  produced by David Coleman for The Daily Wire and Dallas Sonnier for Bonfire Legend, with Ben Shapiro executive producing along with Boreing and Robinson.
<div id="attachment_737711" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-737711" class="size-large wp-image-737711" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 07: David Coleman, Sage Steele, Roseanne Barr, Kyle Dunnigan, Brett Cooper, Megyn Kelly, Adam Carolla, Tyler Fischer, Jeremy Boreing, Alonzo Bodden, Nate Adams, Mike August and Curtis Koller attend the Mr. Birchum Series Premiere on May 07, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/2151990956-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+</div>
<h3>&#8220;Mr. Birchum&#8221; Mobile Billboard Rolls Through L.A.</h3>
A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mr-birchum-mobile-billboard-rolls-through-l-a-displays-trailer-for-series-premiere" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mobile billboard</a> displaying the trailer and details about the much-anticipated premiere of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mr. Birchum</a>,” The Daily Wire’s first animated comedy series, hit the streets of Los Angeles last weekend.
The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTaXLgtcGlg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">digital billboard</a> was 7 feet tall and 12 feet long and was made to resemble a school bus since the show centers on a junior high woodshop teacher voiced by Carolla.
The mobile billboard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTaXLgtcGlg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drove around</a> some Southern California hotspots, including Hollywood, West L.A., Culver City, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach. 
The first episode will be available for free to everyone with the rest of the series available to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/birchum/?utm_campaign=birchum&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=googlesearch&amp;utm_content=na_subscriptions&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwrvyxBhAbEiwAEg_KgmgCEmCBKjKe2DpLDwB3ZRXRRJHS4UWgwuisG_eQWugy9rM6LhY3TRoC6GQQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire+ members</a>.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mr. Birchum | The Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gdBODSx8GMY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mr. Birchum

Daily Wire+ New Series ‘Mr. Birchum’ Goes Where Woke Comedy Won’t

Daily Wire+ New Series 'Mr. Birchum' Goes Where Woke Comedy Won't

Adam Carolla

Megyn Kelly

Readers Pass

Roseanne Barr

The Daily Wire

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated in an interview released Wednesday that abortions at full-term were okay with him.
Podcaster and former ESPN host Sage Steele began by asking Kennedy on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovu7Hu1oEiQ">The Sage Steele Show</a>, “Should there be a limit or you&#8217;re saying all the way up to full term, a woman has a right to have an abortion?”
“I don’t think any woman through history has ever said I’m going to have a baby; I’m going to get pregnant and carry that baby to eight months of term and then I’m gonna terminate the pregnancy,” Kennedy answered. “I don’t think anybody wants to do that.”
“That has happened too many times to count though,” Steele suggested.
“I’m sure that has happened; I would say that in almost all those cases there’s extenuating circumstances,” Kennedy surmised.
“But who knows? Especially when there’s drugs involved and people aren’t thinking clearly. At the end of the day, it is happening,” Steele said.
“What I’m saying is I don’t think any woman sets out saying, ‘I’m going to carry a baby for eight months and abort him,’” Kennedy responded.
“Sure, but they could change their minds at eight months. And this is what they’ve seen. So should they be allowed to do it full-term?” Steele asked.
“Again, I respect people who — I think there’s a very, very good argument, a compelling argument that the state has [an] interest in protecting a fully-formed fetus; I absolutely think that that argument is very convincing,” Kennedy declared. “Again, I’m down to the fact that I don’t trust the state and I think we need to trust the woman. And I don’t think that that’s a satisfactory outcome, because I think there’s always gonna be instances where bad things happen.”
“Yes, we can’t prevent that,” Steele acknowledged.
“Either way, there’s gonna be bad things that happen,” Kennedy said.
“So, in other words, keeping it as is, with Roe v. Wade having been overturned and leaving it up to the states to determine if and when a woman can have an abortion?” Steele asked.
“No, I wouldn’t leave it to the states,” Kennedy said.
“You would say completely, it’s up to the woman —” Steele began.
“I would say it’s up to the woman,” Kennedy interjected. “We shouldn’t have government involved.”
“Even if it’s full-term?” Steele asked.
“Even if it’s full-term,” Kennedy concluded.
Last year, Kennedy Jr. told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-says-sign-federal-ban-abortions-three-months-pregnancy-rcna99689">NBC News</a> he’d support a national abortion ban after the first three months of pregnancy, but hours later reversed himself, saying, “I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

RFK Jr.: Full-Term Abortions Are Okay

Abortion

Mr. Birchum cast

PHOTOS: Star-Studded ‘Mr. Birchum’ Premiere In L.A. Creates Buzz For Adam Carolla’s New Comedy

PHOTOS: Star-Studded 'Mr. Birchum' Premiere In L.A. Creates Buzz For Adam Carolla's New Comedy

Brett Cooper

DailyWire+

Jeremy Boreing

The star-studded cast of the upcoming comedy “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mr. Birchum</a>” just got brighter with the addition of former ESPN anchor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sage-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage Steele</a>.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the premiere of the animated comedy starring comedy legend Adam Carolla in the titular role. The ensemble cast includes previously announced personalities including Danny Trejo, Rob Riggle, Patrick Warburton, Tyler Fischer, Alonzo Bodden, Kyle Dunnigan, Jay Mohr, Megyn Kelly, and Brett Cooper.
Steele joins the cast in the role of Deena, who is married to Mr. Birchum’s best friend Gage.
The TV host made headlines in 2021 for speaking out against ESPN’s vaccine mandates. Steele later sued ESPN and settled the case in 2023 before leaving the sports network. She currently hosts “The Sage Steele Show” on YouTube, which Bill Maher announced last month as the first show for his newly launched podcast network Club Random Studios.
Steele said she was excited to be part of the comedy dream team on “Mr. Birchum.”
“When I got the call from Adam and the Daily Wire team to be part of ‘Mr. Birchum,’ it was a no-brainer for me!” the sports anchor said in a statement.
“I’m a huge fan of everyone involved and am honored to be included in such a powerhouse lineup of comedians. In this insane cultural moment, it’s more important than ever to speak the truth, even when it’s unpopular. ‘Mr. Birchum’ does this in such a hilarious fashion, and I’m thrilled to be part of such a fun, unapologetic project.”
Adam Carolla voices Mr. Birchum, a no-nonsense teacher navigating Teddy Roosevelt Junior High with his family — Wendi (Kelly), Eddie (Dunnigan), and stepdaughter Jeanie (Cooper). Partnering with his friend Gage (Bodden), Mr. Birchum faces off against a progressive poster child for change, the fanatical social justice warrior, Karponzi (Fischer).
Birchum also has the help of some fantasy mentors including the ghost of his gym teacher, Coach Murphy (Mohr) and the frozen dinner icon Burly Man (Warburton). Barr plays Principal Bortles while Riggle appears as Birchum’s nemesis, Gunderson. Trejo, meanwhile, is a reformed gang member named Switchblade.
The show was first announced at the premiere of The Daily Wire’s first ever feature length comedy, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/lady-ballers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lady Ballers</a>.” Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing previously discussed why comedies like “Mr. Birchum” have become so integral in the entertainment world.
“Adam Carolla created Birchum back before Barack Obama killed comedy,” Boreing said in December. “Of course Hollywood wouldn’t make Birchum today because they’ve stopped making comedies altogether for fear of offending the ‘wrong’ people – so we realized we had to do it.”
“We teamed up with Adam and some of the funniest people we know – Roseanne, Rob Riggle, Patrick Warburton, Tyler Fischer and so many more – to bring back the irreverent patriarch in a truly hilarious comedy that doesn’t care who it offends,” he added. 
Kelly agreed that being part of the cast was “so fun.”
“I really just did this because Adam asked me to, and I love Adam. I was like, this is not my thing — I’m usually pretty good at knowing what my ‘thing’ is. And they were like, ‘just try it, just try it!’ It was so fun. I cracked up, I was crying when I saw the script,” she said of the project.
“There’s so much goodness for our side, the side of normalcy, the side that doesn’t get offended at everything,” Kelly continued. “It’s just refreshing to be a part of something like that.”
“<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/mr-birchum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mr. Birchum</a>” premieres Sunday, May 12, on <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=googlesearch&amp;utm_content=na_subscriptions&amp;mid=g&amp;cid=dailywire&amp;xid=0&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwoa2xBhACEiwA1sb1BOhhXMxtCqYr8qxB6rwZ6W6KSxv18U4Ch_fMwT0C5s--OPW40-T93xoCTIgQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire+</a>.

Sage Steele Joins Star-Studded ‘Mr. Birchum’ Cast Ahead Of Animated Comedy Premiere

Sage Steele Joins Star-Studded 'Mr. Birchum' Cast Ahead Of Animated Comedy Premiere

Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele blasted the Left’s “preaching” of “diversity, tolerance, and acceptance” while she has faced criticism for celebrating her biracial identity.
Steele sat down with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro on the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/when-sports-go-woke-sage-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday Special</a>” edition of his podcast for an hour-long conversation about her career and the fallout at ESPN. After telling Shapiro about what led to the infusion of politics and sports at ESPN, Steele was asked about the pressure she has received to repeat leftist talking points on race and gender.
“You&#8217;re a black woman, which means that you have two of the intersectional checkmarks, but you don&#8217;t necessarily mirror everything that the intersectionality crowd would want you to say,” Shapiro said. “How much pressure have you gotten both inside ESPN and then also just from the outside world to sort of repeat slogans that people think you should be saying based on your identity?”
“I think one of the biggest things that has made me so divisive and disliked and at least parts not all for sure, but parts of the black community is my conversation about being biracial,” Steele replied. “So if I&#8217;m asked and if I&#8217;m filling out a census … I&#8217;m going to check black and white, you know, my dad&#8217;s black, my mom is white.”
“I&#8217;m so proud of both. And for some reason that&#8217;s controversial,” she continued, adding that she would expect her family’s racial makeup to be celebrated by those who constantly push for more diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“And I just was always confused by that and like, why isn&#8217;t my family the actual perfect definition of diversity and tolerance and acceptance and inclusion?” Steele asked.
“Why is it bad that I love my mom as much as my dad and want to celebrate her as well? And when I was crushed for that a few times, I got ticked off. I&#8217;m like, enough. This is total B.S.,” she said. “And it&#8217;s actually complete hypocrisy, the opposite of what we are preaching of diversity and tolerance and acceptance.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/when-sports-go-woke-sage-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE FULL ‘SUNDAY SPECIAL’ EPISODE WITH SAGE STEELE</a>
Steele, who recently launched her new podcast “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sage-steele-show/id1737682826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>” on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios platform, told Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sage-steele-reveals-how-politics-infiltrated-espn-in-sunday-special-sit-down-with-ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier in the interview</a> that politics wasn’t a major concern at ESPN until there was a “huge turn” in 2016 when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.
A few years later, Steele was punished by ESPN for negative comments she made on COVID vaccine mandates and President Barack Obama. Steele left the network in 2023 after settling a lawsuit with ESPN, alleging the company wrongfully retaliated against her after she expressed her opinion.
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‘This Is Total B.S.’: Sage Steele Slams ‘Hypocrisy’ Of Left Pushing ‘Diversity And Tolerance’ During Interview With Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Leftism

Sunday Special

The Ben Shapiro Show

The anchor who was punished by ESPN for expressing her opinion on politics and the COVID jab revealed some inside details about how politics became a major issue at the sports network on the latest edition of the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/sunday-special" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special</a>.”
Sage Steele, a longtime reporter and “Sportcenter” host, left ESPN last year after settling a lawsuit with the media company following allegations that ESPN retaliated against her for making negative comments about COVID vaccine mandates and former President Barack Obama. But political shifts at ESPN began taking place years before her lawsuit and departure, creating an environment that was extremely unfriendly to those who pushed back against leftist talking points, Steele told Shapiro.
“Sports was a uniting factor. … You could go to a party with people you didn&#8217;t even know, and you could just talk about sports and it&#8217;s a totally safe space where nobody&#8217;s going to get offended. It was going to be just kind of a fun thing to do and it made a turn,” Shapiro said, asking, “Where did the sporting world lose its way and decide that politics had to become such a part of the coverage?”
Steele, who joined ESPN in 2007, said that when Barack Obama ran against and defeated Republican candidate John McCain the next year, politics wasn’t a major concern at the network, but there was a “huge turn” in 2016.
“I remember being on Twitter and watching the posts from my bosses, executives making huge decisions for ESPN, tweeting about Donald Trump winning,” she said. “And I remember being blown away like, is this okay that our bosses are doing it? And it just was allowed to stay. And then, it was gloves off. Everybody said whatever they wanted, especially, you know, not just Trump winning, but Hillary losing.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/when-sports-go-woke-sage-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE FULL ‘SUNDAY SPECIAL’ EPISODE WITH SAGE STEELE</a>
Steele added that John Skipper, ESPN’s president at the time “was kind of fine with people spouting off.” She said the president’s decision to allow political opinion, which was nearly exclusively from those on the Left, was mind-boggling to her.
“Like any business, I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re a television network, if you&#8217;re like a local hardware store, I think we want money from everybody, not just people that we align with, like, why draw that line? It&#8217;s just bad for business,” she said, adding “This is the place where people come to escape that crap.”
Steele told Shapiro that she was happy when ESPN’s new president James Pitaro took over in 2018 and said “enough with the politics.”
“I thought it was awesome,” she said. “And I personally thanked him for that because he felt the same way as far as [politics] just doesn&#8217;t belong in sports. And then COVID hit and then George Floyd, and the rest is history.”
“And they could not put that genie back in the bottle,” Steele added.
Steel’s departure from ESPN hasn’t stopped her from continuing her career as she recently launched her podcast “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sage-steele-show/id1737682826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>” on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios platform.
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Sage Steele/Ben Shapiro

Sage Steele Reveals How Politics Infiltrated ESPN In ‘Sunday Special’ Sit-Down With Ben Shapiro

ESPN

Former ESPN anchor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sage-steele" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage Steele</a> will guest host The Daily Wire’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>,” one of the nation’s top news podcasts, this coming week.
Steele, a former anchor on ESPN&#8217;s &#8220;SportsCenter&#8221; and the host of the newly launched “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TheSageSteeleShow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>” on YouTube, will co-host “Morning Wire” from April 21 to April 27 alongside Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley while co-host Georgia Howe is off for the week.
Steele, who left Disney after criticizing its COVID vaccine mandate, now interviews prominent athletes, entertainers, and politicians on her own show. In recent years, she has been outspoken about how politics took over ESPN after she first joined the network in 2007.
In 2022, she sued both ESPN and parent company Disney, saying that they had retaliated against her for making negative comments about COVID vaccine mandates and former President Barack Obama. In August 2023, she <a href="https://twitter.com/sagesteele/status/1691437577797337088" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the suit had been “successfully settled” and that she would be leaving so she would be more free to exercise her First Amendment rights.
During her time at ESPN, Steele was given the opportunity to interview President Joe Biden. Speaking with Fox News earlier this year, Steele <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sage-steele-says-espn-bosses-made-her-follow-every-word-of-carefully-planned-qa-with-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Biden interview was highly scripted and that she wasn’t allowed to “deviate” from the preset questions.
“Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate,” she said. “It was very much ‘This is what you will ask. This is how you will say it. No follow-ups, no follow-ups. Next.’ … This went up to the fourth floor, as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, the decision makers are, the president of our company, the CEO, where they all worked.”
The interview made headlines when Biden came out in support of the MLB All-Star Game boycott of Atlanta after Republicans in Georgia passed a voter ID law.
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Earlier this year, comedian Bill Maher, who hosts HBO’s “Real Time,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-launches-new-podcast-network-hires-conservative-as-his-first-host" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hired</a> Steele to be part of his podcast network. Steele said that though she and Maher have a lot of differences in opinion, she appreciated how they can sit down together and have real conversations.
“It’s a beautiful thing that Bill Maher saw this controversial conservative, former ESPN star and said, ‘No, no, no, I’m going to give her a shot, even though I completely feel differently about huge important issues in our country,’” Steele <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interview-former-espn-anchor-sage-steele-talks-getting-canceled-after-vax-comments-surge-of-support-launch-of-her-new-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Bickley in an interview for Morning Wire in March when discussing working with Maher. “I think it’s a win for everybody and I’m so honored.”
&#8220;Morning Wire&#8221; airs twice daily on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire">The Daily Wire</a> website and the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dailywire/id1477317200">DailyWire+</a> app.

Sage Steele/John Bickley

Former ESPN Anchor Sage Steele To Guest-Host ‘Morning Wire’

Media

Morning Wire

U.S.

Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele opened up about an interview she conducted with President Joe Biden while working for the network in 2021, telling Fox News that her bosses made sure she would follow &#8220;every word&#8221; of the script during her exchange with the commander-in-chief.
Steele, who left ESPN after criticizing its COVID vaccine mandate, said her headline-making interview with Biden in March 2021 was carefully planned out by the network&#8217;s executives, and she was told &#8220;not to deviate&#8221; from the written questions. The interview focused on sports returning to normalcy following months of COVID lockdowns, along with athletes and fans being hesitant to get the COVID shot, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-espn-host-says-biden-interview-scripted-network-execs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Biden repeatedly admonished Americans to &#8220;follow the science&#8221; and get vaccinated during the interview.
&#8220;That was an interesting experience in its own right because it was so structured,&#8221; Steele said. &#8220;And I was told, ‘You will say every word that we write out, you will not deviate from the script and go.’&#8221;
&#8220;Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate,&#8221; Steele added. &#8220;It was very much ‘This is what you will ask. This is how you will say it. No follow-ups, no follow-ups. Next.&#8217; … This went up to the fourth floor, as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, the decision makers are, the president of our company, the CEO, where they all worked.&#8221;
The interview made headlines when Biden came out in support of the MLB All-Star Game boycott of Atlanta after Republicans in Georgia passed a voter ID law. The president claimed the Georgia law &#8220;is Jim Crow on steroids&#8221; and &#8220;is all about keeping working folks and ordinary folks that I grew up with from being able to vote.&#8221; Despite Biden and other Democrats slamming the new voter law, early voting in 2022 in the state was at a record high, and Georgia voter turnout was the <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/voter-turnout-in-georgia-leads-the-south/KU4VGL6WLVEYNDNKUI5DVFLOIA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">largest</a> in the South during the midterms.
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Steele told Fox News that she wasn&#8217;t sure if ESPN sent the questions to the White House before the interview, and said her exchange with the then-78-year-old president was &#8220;heartbreaking&#8221; considering his mental acuity. The former ESPN host told Bill Maher last fall that Biden didn&#8217;t appear to know what was going on just before he sat down with Steele for the interview.
&#8220;I had to chitchat waiting for us to start rolling,&#8221; Steele said, adding, &#8220;Of course he has someone next to him, and they keep a black, like, curtain over the lens of the camera, so you can&#8217;t see him until the last second, but you can hear, and we&#8217;re chitchatting… So I can hear him, and he goes, ‘What is this for?’… And he&#8217;s, like, ‘Who am I talking to? Wait — what&#8217;s her name?'&#8221;
Steele sued ESPN and parent company Disney in 2022, alleging the network retaliated against her for making negative comments about COVID vaccine mandates and former President Barack Obama. The anchor was suspended after making the remarks in September 2021 before she apologized a few weeks later.
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Steele has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-hill-i-will-die-on-sage-steele-says-espn-told-her-not-to-talk-about-lia-thomas-she-disobeyed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> her former employer of asking her to refrain from talking about trans-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas.
“I was asked to stop tweeting about it. I was asked to stop doing anything, saying anything about it on social media because I was ‘offending’ others at the company,” she said. “I made sure I sent off another tweet that night after I received that email. Because, no, let’s stop living in this lie.”
The former ESPN host recently launched a new podcast, called &#8220;The Sage Steele Show,&#8221; on Maher&#8217;s platform, telling &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interview-former-espn-anchor-sage-steele-talks-getting-canceled-after-vax-comments-surge-of-support-launch-of-her-new-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>&#8221; in an interview last week that &#8220;it&#8217;s a beautiful thing&#8221; that the leftist Maher reached out a hand to the &#8220;controversial conservative.&#8221;
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Sage Steele/Joe Biden

Sage Steele Says ESPN Bosses Made Her Follow ‘Every Word’ Of Carefully Planned Q&A With Biden

Sage Steele Says ESPN Bosses Made Her Follow 'Every Word' Of Carefully Planned Q&A With Biden

Joe Biden

Politics

The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief and Morning Wire co-host John Bickley and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele on her battle with the network over vaccine mandates and her plans for the future. Listen to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/sidelines-to-spotlight-sage-steele-s-new-chapter-sunday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full interview here</a>.
JOHN: Joining us now to discuss her journey from ESPN SportsCenter anchor to “canceled” to now host of her own show is Sage Steele. Sage, thank you so much for joining us.
SAGE: Thank you for having me.
JOHN: You’ve now launched “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-launches-new-podcast-network-hires-conservative-as-his-first-host" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>,” which we’d like to ask you about, but let&#8217;s start with you parting ways with Disney and ESPN. For those who haven&#8217;t tracked that sequence of events, can you tell us exactly what happened there?
SAGE: That&#8217;s a big, long answer. It was almost a two year process to be honest with you. I was on a podcast on a day off, giving my opinions and views on my own experiences and things that were happening at that time. That was in September or October of 2021. I was suspended for it, punished, silenced, and assignments were taken away from me and I was told that if I didn&#8217;t apologize publicly, I would lose my job.
Listen, there were years and years leading up to the point where I spoke differently from others. I didn&#8217;t follow the same narrative. I decided to stand up only because of the hypocrisy I saw on the other side where all of my peers were able to go on the network whenever they wanted and say what they wanted [because it was the accepted narrative], even if it had nothing to do with sports on ESPN platforms. And of course, I&#8217;d lived a lot of it behind the scenes.
Then, once you’re punished, at some point you have a decision to make. For me, I knew that it was enough. I also knew it was bigger than me, and that&#8217;s kind of what was happening throughout society in America — where if you don&#8217;t follow a certain narrative, then you&#8217;re silenced and punished and canceled. Also, once you get canceled so many times, it&#8217;s easier to say, “Wait a minute.” So I took a stand and did something I never thought I&#8217;d do, which is file a lawsuit against the company that I loved and ended up working for, for almost 17 years. It broke my heart, but I know it was the right thing because it&#8217;s truly about standing up for yourself and others and for freedom of speech.
JOHN: Now, vaccines played a central role in your <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/longtime-espn-anchor-who-criticized-covid-mandates-leaving-network-to-exercise-first-amendment-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">split with ESPN</a>, correct? Can you explain that for us?
SAGE: Yes. So at Disney, of course ESPN is owned by Disney, we were required to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021. I waited until literally the very last day. I was devastated about it and didn&#8217;t agree with being forced. There&#8217;s a difference between the vaccine and the vaccine mandate. I had an issue with the mandate because I wasn&#8217;t comfortable with the vaccine yet. I just wanted more time for more research to be done. I&#8217;d done my homework and I think the average is six to nine years for the FDA to approve a vaccine. And this was shoved out there pretty quickly as we know. It became super political on both sides and I just didn&#8217;t feel comfortable with doing it.
So, I actually went onto that podcast that day directly from getting the shot. I was pretty emotional, probably, and was running a little bit hot, but I was pretty measured with my comments. And I basically said, “Listen, I just don&#8217;t agree that anyone should be forced to do something to their body. I think it&#8217;s sick and scary for any company to do that, but I love my job. I need my job, and I complied in order to keep my job.” And that&#8217;s what I said.
Since then I&#8217;ve obviously thought so much about it. If I had said the opposite — if I had said, “Listen, all these anti-vaxxers are being quite selfish, they don&#8217;t care about their neighbors or their coworkers or their families, just get it” — I would have been celebrated. The other comments I made about race and being biracial and people telling me I should identify as black, even though I&#8217;m black and white, if I had said the other idea, I feel like I would have been celebrated. That&#8217;s where the hypocrisy was and that&#8217;s why I stood up.
JOHN: I should note for disclosure purposes — and also because it proved very consequential — that The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dhillonlaw.com/lawsuits/the-daily-wire-challenges-biden-administration-vaccine-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued the federal government</a> over its vaccine mandate for big companies. We put ourselves at severe risk by doing so, but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-said-do-not-comply-we-won" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we won that lawsuit</a>. And it&#8217;s something that we felt like we had to do. Your story certainly resonates with that move.
SAGE: Can I hug you for that? Because it&#8217;s been people like you and groups like yours who stand up — it just meant the world to me. And I have to say, doing it alone — and I&#8217;m a single mother of three kids, high school and college age kids — it&#8217;s not cheap to stand up. It&#8217;s scary when you&#8217;re on your own and you&#8217;re financially responsible for everybody. Along with throwing away the career that I loved, as I was told I was doing. But sometimes it&#8217;s bigger than us. And so people like you made me feel not quite as alone. It&#8217;s amazing what happens when you do take a stand and step out — how many thousands, millions of people — you realize you&#8217;re so not alone. There&#8217;s such fear and we just can&#8217;t lead with that fear anymore.
JOHN: About that, how have you seen people embrace you? And what&#8217;s this next phase in your career?
SAGE: I cannot tell you how excited I am about what&#8217;s next. Being able to have true, deep, genuine conversations, kind of a talk show format, but not an interview, it’s more of a conversation. There&#8217;s a huge difference. I&#8217;m all about freedom of speech and diversity of thought; that&#8217;s what I lead with. Anyone who knows me will back that up. That’s why, when Bill Maher offered me a job while I was on his Club Random podcast, I thought he was joking. And then he did it again. Of all people, Bill Maher is someone with whom I see things completely differently. I&#8217;m definitely more conservative; he is definitely far Left. He doesn&#8217;t believe in marriage and kids; he’s an atheist and thinks it&#8217;s all crazy. And I&#8217;m the opposite in every single category. I love that we can sit and talk. Most importantly, he saw where my heart is, which is to truly be accepting of everyone and welcome diverse thoughts. And to give me a show to do that? It&#8217;s so much bigger than me. This is about trying to show America that this can exist: We can lead with kindness and be strong in our beliefs. It&#8217;s a beautiful thing that Bill Maher saw this controversial conservative, former ESPN star and said, “No, no, no, I&#8217;m going to give her a shot, even though I completely feel differently about huge important issues in our country.” I think it&#8217;s a win for everybody and I&#8217;m so honored.
JOHN: During the COVID pandemic, we saw censorship on a level I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve ever seen before, at least not in recent decades. Do you feel like there&#8217;s progress being made, or are we still under this heavy-handed censorship complex?
SAGE: I think there is. Obviously you do this every single day and pay super close attention to it. I&#8217;m probably a step back from you, but watching it in a different way as a journalist now, my journalism career is changing and evolving. I feel like there&#8217;s progress and to me the biggest reason for it is Elon Musk. I&#8217;m so grateful for him taking that huge chance. I don&#8217;t care how many billions of dollars you have, that is a risk he has taken. It&#8217;s been fascinating to watch him, what he tweets and what he says. I think it gives the majority of America hope because I truly believe that most Americans think like we do — like we don&#8217;t all have to believe the same things, but you must be respectful of everyone&#8217;s opinion and their right to have it. So, because of Elon Musk, it is changing.
I have seen and read about so many other people taking stands. It&#8217;s fascinating to learn what&#8217;s going on with Google and all the suppression over the last 12 years with the election process. That stuff’s being exposed. I feel like on the old Twitter, now X, that we would never have been able to hear about that, not as quickly and efficiently and accurately. So, to me, there is progress and we have to continue. I believe there&#8217;s a groundswell for people like us who just want all things available for us to review and allow us to make our own decisions. That&#8217;s what had been taken away and people didn&#8217;t realize it. Now it&#8217;s being exposed and that&#8217;s the win.
That&#8217;s what I want to talk about on my show with a variety of guests. Yes, some will be athletes, but also people in Hollywood, some politicians, actors, all the above, because I think we probably have a lot more in common than we believe. It doesn&#8217;t all have to be political. I want to hear their “whys” and most importantly though, when it all hits the fan, how do they push through? How do they push through those adverse moments in their lives despite making it all look perfect on TV or on the internet? What I have found is most people believe like us, but they&#8217;re fearful — fearful in Hollywood in particular to speak their truth. So, I hope and pray that I can make people comfortable — comfortable enough to do that. And then, when people open up and speak openly, I think everybody wins and others realize, “Hey, I&#8217;m not alone and we&#8217;re right to stand up and speak our own truths. It doesn&#8217;t have to fit a certain narrative.”
JOHN: As you mentioned, Bill Maher is far-left on many issues. Is he putting any restrictions on your topics for your show?
SAGE: Zero. Nothing. It&#8217;s beautiful. I&#8217;m so not used to this world. I&#8217;m like, “Wait, what?” I&#8217;m waiting for someone from the Disney offices in Burbank to reach up and cut me off. It&#8217;s just a whole new world. Bill and I agree on some of the core issues. That&#8217;s what we found out in that podcast I did with him on Club Random — about immigration, he thinks it&#8217;s completely out of control; about transgender, the transgender sports, women&#8217;s sports issue, out of control and ridiculous and scary; and of course the vaccine, vaccine mandates, nuts. So those are three core issues that have obviously been so divisive. But again, when you look at my stance on things, how I feel about things based on myself and being a mother and not having a certain platform, and then you look at Bill Maher with his massive platform and his very Left-leaning liberal approach to pretty much everything in life. But it&#8217;s a great lesson, that when we are respectful, when we talk and lead with kindness, we realize we actually have a lot more in common. And he&#8217;s like, “Go girl. Say what you want, ask what you want, do what you want.” There&#8217;s a trust there already, and it&#8217;s something I&#8217;m so grateful for because I&#8217;m not used to that.
JOHN: Final question before you go: What have you been surprised by and what are you looking most forward to in this next phase?
SAGE: Well, thank you. I was just so shocked and honored that someone on “the other side of the aisle” saw the need for more conversation, and for Bill Maher to believe that I could be the one. I&#8217;ve never been given that kind of platform before. But it&#8217;s not about me or Bill; it&#8217;s about what has to happen. It does take courage though, right? For someone like Bill to say, “Oh, I&#8217;m going to go right into these waters and give a voice to someone with whom I feel so differently.” Kudos to him for seeing the big picture beyond what he believes. I am so excited to have these conversations and make them continue. Because if we don&#8217;t do this – I&#8217;m not trying to be dramatic – I believe we lose America and I do believe it&#8217;s now or never. So here we go with Club Random and Bill and me and a whole bunch of other guests. I hope you guys take a chance and listen.
JOHN: We certainly will. Sage, thank you so much for joining us. We&#8217;d love to talk to you again.
SAGE: I would love to. I listen to y&#8217;all every morning. So thank you.
JOHN: That’s certainly nice to hear. Thanks again for coming on.
SAGE: Thank you. God bless.
Listen to the full Morning Wire interview <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/sidelines-to-spotlight-sage-steele-s-new-chapter-sunday-extra">here</a>.

Shaq’s Fun House

INTERVIEW: Former ESPN Anchor Sage Steele Talks Getting Canceled After Vax Comments, Surge Of Support & Launch Of Her New Show 

Bill Maher

COVID

Vaccine Mandate

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