Sage Steele vs. transgender people

Sage Steele is an American sportscaster and anti-transgender activist. Steele is a prominent opponent of transgender athletes. Steele is on the advisory board for XX-XY Athletics.

Background

Sage Marie Steele was born on November 28, 1972 to Gary and Mona (O’Neil) Steele. Steele was born in the Panama Canal Zone, where Gary Steele was stationed in the Army. The family was stationed in Belgium and Greece before being stationed in Colorado Springs Colorado. The family then moved to Carmel, Indiana, where Steele graduated from Carmel High School in 1990.

Steele earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1995. Steele was a sports reporter at CBS affiliate WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana from 1995 to 1997, then at WISH-TV in Indianapolis from 1997 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001, Steele reported for WFTS in Tampa, Florida and at Fox Sports Florida. From 2001 to 2007, Steele reported for ComCast SportsNet.

In 2007, Steele joined ESPN. In 2021, Steele became SportsCenter co-anchor with Matt Barrie. That year, Steele was suspended without pay for comments about COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Steele filed suit, eventually settling and leaving ESPN in 2023.

In 2024, Steele replaced Candace Owens in the Daily Wire animated series Mr. Birchum.

Steele served on the boards of the Pat Tillman Foundation and the V Foundation.

Steele was married to Jonathan Bailey from 1999 to 2019. Steele is Catholic and has three children.

Anti-trans activism

In March 2024, Steele was named the first podcast host on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios podcast network. The show continued under Sage Steele Productions after Club Random Studios shut down in 2025.

Guests include a number of prominent anti-trans activists, including Glenn Beck, Riley Gaines, Benny Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Charlie Kirk, Tomi Lahren, Jillian Michaels, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dave Rubin, Robby Starbuck, and Matt Walsh.

Guests have included (through July 2025):

Matt Barnes
Kathy Barnette
Roseanne Barr
Maria Bartiromo
Glenn Beck (2)
Mayim Bialik
Russell Brand
Shannon Bream

Kirk Cameron
Gina Carano
Adam Carolla
Ben Carson

Drea de Matteo
Chris Destefano
Byron Donalds
Xaviaer DuRousseau

Sara Evans

Riley Gaines
Kathie Lee Gifford

Chris Harrison
Wesley Hunt

John James
Benny Johnson

Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Charlie Kirk
Erika Kirk

Tomi Lahren
Cory Lewandowski

Howie Mandel
Meghan McCain
John McEntee
Jillian Michaels (2)

Sharon Osbourne

Danica Patrick
Lynne Patton
Drew Pinsky
Samantha Ponder
Dave Portnoy

Vivek Ramaswamy (2)
Michael Rapaport
John Rich
Dave Rubin

Rob Schneider
Lorenzo Sewell
Nicole Shanahan (2)
Gary Sinise
Aries Spears
Chris Spencer
Robby Starbuck
Gary and Mona Steele
Carol Swain

Kat Timpf
Clay Travis
Lara Trump
Tyrus

Jon Voight

Matt Walsh
Reggie Watts
Dana White
Billy Dee Williams

References

Reimer, Alex (February 5, 2025). Sage Steele completes her transformation from once-respected ESPN anchor into anti-trans Tr*mp sycophant. Queerty https://www.queerty.com/sage-steele-completes-her-transformation-from-once-respected-espn-anchor-into-anti-trans-trmp-sycophant-20250205/

Allison, Autumn (February 5, 2025). Donald Trump thanks Sage Steele during EO signing banning trans women from team sports. IndyStar https://www.indystar.com/videos/news/2025/02/05/trump-thanks-sage-steele-while-banning-trans-women-from-team-sports/78261862007/

Glasspiegel, Ryan (December 27, 2023). Sage Steele: ESPN told me to stop tweeting about trans swimmer Lia Thomas. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/12/27/sports/sage-steele-espn-said-stop-tweeting-about-trans-swimmer-lia-thomas/