The Charlie Kirk Show - Sage Steele is Done Hiding Her Beliefs

00:00:00.000 Hey, everybody.

00:00:00.000 It's the Charlie Kirk Show.

00:00:01.000 Sage Steele joins the program.

00:00:03.000 Been watching her for years on ESPN.

00:00:05.000 Super smart.

00:00:06.000 Godly woman. 0.99

00:00:08.000 Really emotional.

00:00:09.000 Phenomenal conversation.

00:00:10.000 I think you are going to love.

00:00:12.000 Become a member today at members.charliekirk.com.

00:00:14.000 That is members.charliekirk.com.

00:00:17.000 As always, you can email me, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:00:20.000 And get involved with Turning Point USA at tpusa.com.

00:00:23.000 That is tpusa.com.

00:00:25.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:00:26.000 Here we go.

00:00:27.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:29.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:00:31.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

00:00:34.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks!

00:00:38.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:00:38.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:00:40.000 His spirit, his love of this country.

00:00:41.000 He's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA.

00:00:48.000 We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.

00:00:57.000 That's why we are here.

00:00:59.000 Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of The Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals.

00:01:09.000 Learn how you could protect your wealth with Noble Gold Investments at noblegoldinvestments.com.

00:01:16.000 That is noblegoldinvestments.com.

00:01:18.000 It's where I buy all of my gold.

00:01:20.000 Go to noblegoldinvestments.com.

00:01:24.000 Why don't you introduce yourself to the audience?

00:01:25.000 How'd you get into this crazy conservative world?

00:01:28.000 Oh, yeah, I guess I'm out of the closet now, huh?

00:01:30.000 Well, I'm not, I'm, or whatever you are, so... No, I am.

00:01:34.000 Yeah.

00:01:34.000 Oh, yes.

00:01:35.000 Yes.

00:01:36.000 Um, I am out.

00:01:38.000 It's funny, John McEntee, who, have you guys seen the date right?

00:01:44.000 Stuff.

00:01:45.000 Yes, for conservatives.

00:01:47.000 I had him on my show, Sage Steele Show, on YouTube, thank you, recently, and he brought swag.

00:01:52.000 He brought a sweatshirt for me that says, Republicans are hotter.

00:01:56.000 And all the stuff from my daughters as well.

00:01:59.000 And so, I was like, you know what?

00:02:02.000 I'm gonna wear it and I'm gonna post it.

00:02:03.000 And that was last week.

00:02:06.000 What was the reaction you got when you did that?

00:02:08.000 Whoa, I got, like, listen, I don't get the likes that you do.

00:02:11.000 Okay.

00:02:11.000 I mean, I'll say, I'll get, like, on average, like, I don't know, 8,000 to 12,000 likes on a decent post.

00:02:17.000 Sure.

00:02:17.000 This one I got 32,000 likes.

00:02:19.000 Well, there you go.

00:02:20.000 I'm like, oh, and it's like, so true, so true, men, women, it was hysterical.

00:02:23.000 Long story short, people think, because I'm an army kid, my dad's Former military, West Point.

00:02:28.000 They think, I know, thank you.

00:02:30.000 Not me, it's him, I'll tell them.

00:02:31.000 But they think, oh, your dad was in the military, that's why you're conservative.

00:02:34.000 No.

00:02:34.000 I remember in the 1988 election, were you alive?

00:02:38.000 No, five years before I was born.

00:02:39.000 I swear, you're so young, it's so annoying.

00:02:42.000 I remember going to a high school civics, my high school civics class and then coming home right around election time in 88 and asking my parents, like, let's have a conversation, who are you voting for?

00:02:52.000 And they looked at me and they said, none of your business.

00:02:55.000 I kind of like that because they wanted me to go discover my why for whoever I chose to support, especially with college coming up.

00:03:02.000 I graduated from high school in 1990, so the Bush years and Clinton and all that.

00:03:06.000 So I went on my own and did my homework and research and just have had to be silent about it in order to keep a job.

00:03:13.000 Wow.

00:03:13.000 And so you've had a great career.

00:03:16.000 Talk about that.

00:03:16.000 And then how'd you end up into this whole space?

00:03:19.000 Yeah.

00:03:20.000 Well, you invited me here.

00:03:22.000 So did you know that you invited me?

00:03:23.000 I did.

00:03:23.000 Yeah.

00:03:23.000 I'm kidding.

00:03:24.000 I saw your RFK interview and that's like, she must come to the Believer Summit.

00:03:28.000 Well, that was interesting.

00:03:29.000 That was amazing.

00:03:30.000 That was interesting.

00:03:31.000 I mean, that's the thing with my new show right now.

00:03:33.000 I love being able to talk to people with very different viewpoints.

00:03:36.000 My whole thing is diversity of thought.

00:03:38.000 And I've been pushing that for 15 plus years, whenever I've spoken on college campuses, wherever, because I didn't, I wasn't out.

00:03:44.000 I keep saying it, but I had these beliefs.

00:03:47.000 I was just, um, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to say it, say what they were on any given topic.

00:03:53.000 So I would just lead with that and give other examples about true diversity of thought.

00:03:57.000 Yes.

00:03:58.000 Because we talk about DEI and all these other things, and I think that's easy.

00:04:01.000 This, and many other forms of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

00:04:06.000 But I think if we begin with diversity of thought, the rest really falls in line.

00:04:11.000 So, wait, what was the question?

00:04:13.000 How'd you find yourself into this crazy world that we're in?

00:04:18.000 I'm as a mother.

00:04:19.000 I have three kids there.

00:04:20.000 As of August 12th, I'm going to be an empty nester.

00:04:23.000 Wow.

00:04:23.000 I have next year in August as a freshman in college, a junior in college, and a senior in college.

00:04:28.000 So this is it.

00:04:29.000 That's why I'm moving to Florida in six weeks too.

00:04:30.000 Congrats.

00:04:31.000 Full time.

00:04:32.000 Yeah.

00:04:33.000 From Connecticut.

00:04:35.000 I was always in Connecticut just because that's world headquarters for ESPN.

00:04:38.000 So from 07 to 2024 in Connecticut, because that's where I had to be to work.

00:04:44.000 Can you talk about your time at ESPN?

00:04:45.000 Yeah, listen, it was awesome.

00:04:47.000 It was my dream job that I set out to do when I was 11 years old, to be a sportscaster.

00:04:51.000 And there were no women doing that then, certainly no women who looked like me.

00:04:55.000 And it was this crazy dream that I announced at the dinner table in 1984, literally this time ago, 40 years ago, when I was 11 years old, because it was the 84 Olympics in Los Angeles.

00:05:06.000 Again, you weren't alive.

00:05:07.000 There was this thing called the Olympics.

00:05:08.000 That's right.

00:05:08.000 And I remember.

00:05:09.000 And I don't remember the Atlanta Olympics in 96 either.

00:05:11.000 96, right?

00:05:13.000 So annoying.

00:05:14.000 I was three years old, so I don't remember those either.

00:05:16.000 Thank God for the internet.

00:05:17.000 Yes.

00:05:17.000 You can go look it up.

00:05:19.000 No, it was, um, I just knew from a very young age that sports brought people together.

00:05:26.000 I remember, you know, watching football games and on a football Sunday at any stadium across America, you have 70, 80,000 people that for three hours, it didn't matter your race, your gender, your socioeconomic status, your politics.

00:05:37.000 You were just on the same page and rooting for that team and you're high-fiving strangers next to you.

00:05:42.000 And it's beautiful.

00:05:43.000 And then you leave and all hell breaks loose, you know?

00:05:46.000 So I felt that, I don't know, camaraderie and just happiness with sports and I wanted to be a part of it.

00:05:51.000 And then I wanted to also know about greatness and to be around some of the best athletes that, you know, that translates into every aspect of life.

00:05:59.000 Your mental toughness, your ability to push through uncomfortable moments and fear when you're at the Olympics and you're on the starting line for the 100 meter dash.

00:06:06.000 Like, I know that when I ran the 800 meters in junior high, I wanted to So I can't imagine being an Olympian.

00:06:13.000 I wanted to know about that mental toughness.

00:06:15.000 So that's why I did it.

00:06:16.000 And there was 11 years from my first job out of college till I got to ESPN.

00:06:21.000 And then was at ESPN for... What did you learn being at ESPN as far as studying greatness and the best athletes on the planet?

00:06:29.000 That they're just like us.

00:06:31.000 I was able to humanize them and realize like in interviews, for example, they would be nervous and I would have to warm them up.

00:06:39.000 I remember what like one of my first, probably the first couple of months at ESPN.

00:06:43.000 At the time we had Jerry Rice.

00:06:45.000 Do you know Jerry Rice?

00:06:45.000 Yeah, I'm a big football fan.

00:06:47.000 Yes, Jerry Rice is a receiver for the 49ers and I think he also played for Oakland.

00:06:51.000 Good job.

00:06:52.000 Thank you.

00:06:53.000 Yes.

00:06:54.000 I'm just saying.

00:06:55.000 Am I right?

00:06:55.000 Didn't he play for both the Raiders and the 49ers?

00:06:58.000 He did.

00:06:59.000 Primarily the 49ers.

00:07:00.000 Yes, I'm aware.

00:07:01.000 And he won two Super Bowls with Montana, right?

00:07:03.000 You know who Joe Montana is?

00:07:04.000 I'm kidding.

00:07:05.000 I'm kidding.

00:07:07.000 I could play sports trivia out of the big majors.

00:07:11.000 What?

00:07:13.000 Was one with Steve Young, right?

00:07:14.000 Yes, who I love, Steve.

00:07:15.000 He just left ESPN.

00:07:16.000 You're right, yeah, it was one of them.

00:07:17.000 Oh, it's you.

00:07:18.000 Didn't Rice wear 81, if I'm not mistaken?

00:07:21.000 Was it 80?

00:07:21.000 Okay, I'm almost right.

00:07:23.000 So... Want to keep going?

00:07:24.000 No, we're good.

00:07:24.000 I'm kidding.

00:07:25.000 I'm kidding.

00:07:26.000 At this point, I've been out of it for almost a year, and I didn't, by the way, I didn't realize how much I needed a little bit of a break from sports when that's all you do.

00:07:32.000 See, I wish I could have your job.

00:07:33.000 Live and breathe.

00:07:34.000 I want to go do sports for a year, and you can go do politics for a year, and... That's not a fair trade.

00:07:39.000 Yeah, I yearn to be able to do sports.

00:07:42.000 I loved every moment, even when it was, you know, controversial on the back side of it.

00:07:49.000 But I, for instance, Jerry Rice and Emmett Smith.

00:07:51.000 Running back for the Dallas Cowboys.

00:07:53.000 Played college football.

00:07:54.000 I don't know, actually.

00:07:55.000 Was it Oklahoma State or University of Florida?

00:07:58.000 Florida, right around the corner.

00:07:59.000 I didn't know that, yeah.

00:08:00.000 It's okay, we're here to help them, aren't we?

00:08:02.000 He is a Hall of Famer though.

00:08:03.000 There you go.

00:08:04.000 And I'm totally kidding.

00:08:05.000 Like, I was doing SportsCenter segments with these guys and we couldn't do them live because they were not good at it.

00:08:15.000 Really?

00:08:15.000 Yes.

00:08:16.000 And I say that with respect because just because you are an expert in something and the GOAT Jerry Rice and a Hall of Famer doesn't mean that you can speak it and make that translate on television to millions of people when the cameras are on and live or taped.

00:08:33.000 I feel like he's gotten better, though.

00:08:34.000 He's pretty good now.

00:08:35.000 Who, Emmett?

00:08:36.000 No, Jerry Rice.

00:08:37.000 He does interviews and stuff, right?

00:08:38.000 That's different from, like, being an analyst on TV and breaking down... But doesn't Emmet Smith now do commentary for Fox or no?

00:08:44.000 I don't know.

00:08:46.000 He might, but ESPN's a different animal.

00:08:48.000 And as an analyst, though, I'll tee you up with a question.

00:08:51.000 You may or may not know what's coming.

00:08:53.000 And then you have to be able to have a conversation about it.

00:08:56.000 From a breakdown analyst perspective, NBA, Tim Legler, been there for 24, 25 years, the best.

00:09:02.000 And my gauge for good analysts is, what do I learn when I am done watching that segment?

00:09:08.000 And so if you can't get up here and tell me why they chose to run this play at this moment, Sorry, what am I learning from you?

00:09:15.000 Like, you were there, I wasn't.

00:09:16.000 You've been there.

00:09:16.000 So, it was incredible to see the best of the best struggle with that part of it.

00:09:22.000 Because you can know how to do it, but can you explain it and make it in layman's terms?

00:09:26.000 Especially, there's been the increase of women who have been interested in football and sports in general over the past 20 years.

00:09:33.000 Those numbers have completely skyrocketed.

00:09:36.000 Fantasy football, almost more women than men play fantasy football now. 0.99

00:09:40.000 So, that's because You love sports, you see the benefits of it, but good analysis matters.

00:09:45.000 And so it was just cool to kind of personalize those guys.

00:09:48.000 And they would ask me for advice, which I was like, oh, what do I what do I say?

00:09:52.000 But I will tell you, it did change, Charlie.

00:09:55.000 Like ESPN from 07 until when I left, which is 11 months ago, changed dramatically and in a way that is so unfortunate, because I don't think anybody I know nobody does it better.

00:10:06.000 No network does sports news better than ESPN, but they chose to take A turn.

00:10:12.000 What turn did they take?

00:10:14.000 I think they've been building up to it for years.

00:10:16.000 But... What is Disney?

00:10:19.000 Yeah.

00:10:20.000 And just super woke.

00:10:23.000 And a lack of diversity of thought.

00:10:25.000 That's what actually ended up, you know, ending my... But this is sports.

00:10:28.000 What diversity of thought do we need?

00:10:30.000 I mean, so give us... Well, they politicized it.

00:10:32.000 I mean, they brought politics in.

00:10:33.000 I mean, when Trump was elected in 2016, that was the massive turning point that I noticed when I went on Twitter that night.

00:10:41.000 Watching the results come in and being in shock because of what the polls were saying ahead of that, right?

00:10:46.000 Like, not even going to be a thing.

00:10:48.000 And then we're like, wait, what's happening?

00:10:49.000 And I remember looking at Twitter and seeing executives, my bosses, tweeting their hatred for Donald Trump.

00:10:57.000 And how angry they were that he had just won.

00:10:59.000 And I remember thinking, wait, there might, there are leaders and they're putting that out publicly.

00:11:05.000 What is this?

00:11:05.000 Because we were told not to, but then when the bosses do it, you go, what the heck is happening?

00:11:09.000 So that's where it began.

00:11:11.000 And then 2020 is when it peaks with, with, with COVID and George Floyd.

00:11:15.000 And literally to me, that's when it was the point of no return.

00:11:19.000 Yeah.

00:11:19.000 And then we had the bubble in the summer of 20 and that was super politicized.

00:11:24.000 NBA for the playoffs and the finals.

00:11:27.000 It was more politics than it was basketball that summer.

00:11:31.000 I know you have Jonathan Isaac here.

00:11:32.000 Yeah, he's amazing.

00:11:33.000 He's such a special guy.

00:11:34.000 I mean, he's probably 24, 25.

00:11:35.000 He went to Florida State.

00:11:36.000 See, that one I know.

00:11:37.000 There you go.

00:11:38.000 He's such an incredible human being.

00:11:41.000 He really is.

00:11:42.000 And his courage.

00:11:43.000 I want to give him credit.

00:11:44.000 So this is how amazing Jonathan Isaac is.

00:11:47.000 I say a lot of things.

00:11:48.000 Something I said got taken wildly out of context.

00:11:51.000 And there were so many people pressuring Jonathan Isaac not to speak at this event.

00:11:55.000 And he was like, no.

00:11:56.000 Are you serious?

00:11:57.000 I know Charlie.

00:11:58.000 I don't agree with everything he says.

00:12:00.000 I'm not going to cancel.

00:12:01.000 I'm still going.

00:12:02.000 And that, for an NBA starter to say that, deserves so much applause.

00:12:06.000 I can't tell you.

00:12:07.000 That is a big, big, big gig.

00:12:09.000 Huge.

00:12:11.000 And by the way, it's interesting, because he's been out now for a couple years too, and they're still coming after him.

00:12:18.000 Because he's the one guy, right?

00:12:19.000 Do you all remember what happened in the bubble with Jonathan Isaac?

00:12:22.000 He didn't kneel.

00:12:23.000 He didn't kneel.

00:12:23.000 And he...

00:12:26.000 Yep.

00:12:26.000 didn't believe in that kind of divisiveness and so the very night I

00:12:29.000 mean he got crushed on Twitter that night like killed for standing and the

00:12:33.000 very next day he went out and they played a game and what happened he went

00:12:36.000 up and I think he was just going up for a rebound or a block or something he

00:12:40.000 came down and blew out his Achilles or his ACL and the internet blew up again

00:12:46.000 and it was all these people laughing at him and celebrating his injury

00:12:51.000 And I actually got emotional reading these tweets, thinking, this 21, 22-year-old kid is reading this now.

00:12:58.000 And it's just the hypocrisy that comes from those people that crushed him, or the same ones who crushed me and others. 0.81

00:13:04.000 It is so sick.

00:13:05.000 The problem is nobody calls them out on it in the sports world, and that's why I want to.

00:13:10.000 Of all the places, though, and thank you for that, where you'd think that Like a hyper politically correct wokeism should be inconsistent with the value structure.

00:13:21.000 It's highly competitive athletics because it's a pure meritocracy.

00:13:25.000 Yeah, it is high pressure.

00:13:27.000 It is cutthroat.

00:13:28.000 It is market principles employed where you're not you don't have affirmative action in the NBA nor should you or in the NFL.

00:13:35.000 So why is it that the sports world has been so open and accepting of this value system that is antithetical towards what makes sports so entertaining and excellent?

00:13:46.000 I don't have... I have, trust me, I've racked my brain trying to figure out the why behind it.

00:13:50.000 One thing I will say, I don't believe that they all believe what they're saying and what they're preaching.

00:13:55.000 I totally agree with that.

00:13:56.000 Yeah.

00:13:56.000 It's no different from... Stephen A. Smith doesn't believe half the stuff he says.

00:13:58.000 Correct.

00:13:59.000 I can confirm that.

00:14:00.000 Correct.

00:14:01.000 Which, um, makes it maybe worse.

00:14:05.000 I think it's totally worse.

00:14:06.000 I actually think half of it's an act just to make people happy.

00:14:10.000 And he's making, you know, 13, 15 million dollars a year salary, much less the other stuff.

00:14:15.000 So, um, like I get it, to an extent, but it's also, and this is what has killed me through the years, once you make it to a certain level, um, like for instance, Shaquille O'Neal is a great example, who I love.

00:14:26.000 I think he's a great guy.

00:14:27.000 Please silence your phones, guys.

00:14:29.000 And back to the blue and all those and he's an army kid as well.

00:14:32.000 One time I was, I was at the NBA Finals and I I guess spoken out about a couple of things was right after Kaepernick kneeling like all that kind of stuff began and I spoke out and I got crushed for it and I got went back in my little shell because I was afraid and I have you know three kids to support and just as fearful for my like there's real fear it's legitimate and I see why people are fearful but he came up to me he's like Let me tell you something, and I won't continue because I'm bad at that.

00:14:59.000 But he was like, I got you.

00:15:01.000 And I agree with you.

00:15:02.000 And I was like, thank you.

00:15:05.000 And where have you been then?

00:15:08.000 And why haven't you retweeted the hate and been like, guys, we're better than this?

00:15:13.000 In particular, and this is controversial, but it's factual, in the black community, if you go off script, Your people will come after you quite, not all the time, quite often. 0.90

00:15:25.000 I see nodding over there.

00:15:26.000 It has broken me.

00:15:27.000 It has been probably one of the most devastating parts of my overall life.

00:15:33.000 Long before I became a sportscaster, because I'm biracial.

00:15:36.000 My mom's white, my dad's black, and I was never enough for this, never enough for that.

00:15:38.000 So you pay reparations yourself?

00:15:41.000 Oh my gosh, yes!

00:15:42.000 Yes, I didn't even know what those were, and now... But it's like, wait, what?

00:15:46.000 Like, Shaq has that platform.

00:15:48.000 Stephen A has that platform to be able to say, you know what, you don't have to agree with her, but why do we crush each other?

00:15:54.000 I don't know any other culture that crushes you if you go off the script.

00:15:58.000 Which, by the way, we're not monolithic.

00:16:00.000 Like, just because I have brown skin color doesn't mean you and I agree with anything.

00:16:04.000 And maybe we do, but to put people in a box like that makes me sick, and I'm done with that.

00:16:08.000 So I just feel like people like Shaq... Amen, I love that.

00:16:13.000 It makes me crazy.

00:16:15.000 But people like Shaq, those are the men, the Stephen A's, who need to speak up more.

00:16:19.000 And it doesn't mean even make us take a stance on certain things.

00:16:22.000 Well, first of all, forget the racial thing.

00:16:24.000 Like, men should stand up for women when they're picked on, period.

00:16:27.000 So, like, that's just the principle.

00:16:29.000 But wait, here's another thing with that.

00:16:30.000 Where are the women standing up for women? 1.00

00:16:32.000 I don't expect... That's not going to happen.

00:16:33.000 Like, I think that's... Well, listen, with the... I'm sorry, but I... You're probably right, but with this whole transgender sports thing, I've said this before... No, no, of course, I'm just like this... No, but I'm so mad because I'm like, if women... Just the female sports journalists across this country came together, literally, and were like, what are we doing, guys? 0.98

00:16:47.000 Because we've been pushing Title IX and Billie Jean King.

00:16:49.000 Everybody's there and loud about it.

00:16:50.000 That's a powerful point.

00:16:51.000 And now we're silent?

00:16:52.000 And I have begged my female peers to come together on this because if we did, this would be gone.

00:16:57.000 We would crush this whole thing, but the fear is real and they stay silent.

00:17:01.000 By the way, this isn't about my controversy, one of my many, with the vaccine mandate.

00:17:07.000 No, no, no, that's okay.

00:17:07.000 You can have opinions on that and the science behind it.

00:17:11.000 This is proven.

00:17:12.000 Men are different than women. 1.00

00:17:13.000 Women are different than men. 1.00

00:17:15.000 Why are we not standing up for real hashtag science?

00:17:18.000 Yes.

00:17:18.000 And that's what I don't, I can't accept.

00:17:21.000 I totally agree, and... I mean, Shaq works for Turner, I think, right?

00:17:27.000 So does Charles Barkley.

00:17:29.000 But I... He says anything and everything that he wants.

00:17:32.000 Yes, of course they do.

00:17:33.000 And Barkley goes way off script.

00:17:34.000 That's what I mean, Barkley.

00:17:35.000 And no one cares.

00:17:36.000 Everyone laughs.

00:17:36.000 Oh, it's just Barkley being Barkley.

00:17:38.000 Like, whatever.

00:17:39.000 But I know there are legit conservatives that still work for ESPN.

00:17:44.000 I mean, if you had Pat McAfee in a room, he would agree with most of what we're saying, but he's not allowed to say it, right?

00:17:49.000 Correct.

00:17:49.000 Kurt Curbstreet, same thing.

00:17:51.000 Like, Kurt Curbstreet is a conservative, but you're not supposed to know that, right?

00:17:54.000 There's a lot.

00:17:56.000 There's a lot, right?

00:17:57.000 But it makes me mad because I'm like, why, why was I, and it didn't happen intentionally though, but why, why was I the only, the only one?

00:18:04.000 These are, by the way, big, strong, tough men with a lot of money.

00:18:06.000 Where you at?

00:18:08.000 No, but this is a, again, that's why I go back to the men of society should stand up against bullies and should say, OK, maybe you're going to cut my salary from college game day.

00:18:19.000 I don't care.

00:18:19.000 You're not going after sage.

00:18:21.000 Or you're not going to go after people that can't defend themselves.

00:18:25.000 That's a core fundamental principle of a society that we've allowed to deteriorate.

00:18:30.000 And ESPN is a beast.

00:18:32.000 The product is better.

00:18:33.000 It's gotten so much worse.

00:18:34.000 I remember, first of all, why'd they ever get rid of, you know, the worst play of the day on SportsCenter?

00:18:39.000 Did you notice that?

00:18:40.000 The not top 10.

00:18:41.000 Why'd they get rid of that?

00:18:42.000 Because Mark Sanchez was like for a year and a half on the butt fumble.

00:18:44.000 The butt fumble.

00:18:45.000 Gina, do you know how sick we got of saying, and number one, Do you know, you guys know this, right?

00:18:51.000 That Mark Sanchez, who went to University of Southern California and played high school football at Mission Viejo High School, and was number six at USC, and then drafted by the New York Jets, had the worst play in American history on the Thanksgiving game, right?

00:19:05.000 I think it was the Friday after the Thanksgiving, the butt fumble.

00:19:08.000 So they would have the worst play, and it would always be, I think, voted by the internet or something, the worst play.

00:19:12.000 And it was voted the worst play for like a year and a half straight.

00:19:15.000 Right?

00:19:16.000 So poor Sage.

00:19:17.000 And again, on the not top 10, a play that happened a year ago, and then you guys just got rid of it.

00:19:22.000 I don't... I think they retired it.

00:19:25.000 It hasn't come back.

00:19:26.000 No, but they still do on Fridays.

00:19:29.000 Listen, I haven't turned it on since I left.

00:19:32.000 You know, I don't... I used to watch... I mean, either.

00:19:35.000 But it's not even intentional.

00:19:36.000 It wasn't like, I'm going to show them.

00:19:38.000 They don't care.

00:19:39.000 They do not care about me.

00:19:40.000 No, they don't.

00:19:40.000 It's more that, you know, when you know how the sausage is made, and I'm watching this and I'm like, OK, I know what just happened there.

00:19:47.000 That's BS.

00:19:48.000 That whole thing.

00:19:49.000 She's smiling.

00:19:50.000 She is the meanest person I've ever met. 0.54

00:19:52.000 Like that, I'm like, no, no, no.

00:19:54.000 It's just been healthier to step away.

00:19:56.000 But there's a ton of, to your point, a ton of really good people, too.

00:19:58.000 But Fridays, I think they still do have the not top 10.

00:20:00.000 They still do the not top 10.

00:20:01.000 Which is the best, because they have I only watched one non-sports programming show on ESPN, and that's College Game Day, which I still think's a great show.

00:20:08.000 Herb Street.

00:20:09.000 Yeah, with Herb Street and Desmond Howard.

00:20:11.000 McAfee's a questionable addition, but that's a separate issue.

00:20:14.000 Did anyone watch College Game Day?

00:20:15.000 Has anyone watched that?

00:20:16.000 Do you guys like McAfee or no on that show?

00:20:17.000 People say that he frats it up a little bit.

00:20:20.000 I agree, right?

00:20:21.000 I don't think that it's a good addition.

00:20:22.000 But, so, are you happier now that you're not at ESPN?

00:20:26.000 I'm so happy.

00:20:28.000 It's weird.

00:20:33.000 But I miss it.

00:20:37.000 I miss I don't miss 98% of what came with it and those pressures.

00:20:41.000 And frankly, I said this to my actual leaders, the lack of leadership, like from the top down people that I had good relationships with until I didn't until I spoke out, you know, those same leaders who believe, as many people in this room do, but chose to remain silent and That to me is the problem because again, they're the same ones that are preaching all the DEI stuff, but then they stay silent for that.

00:21:07.000 I just, I wouldn't change a thing.

00:21:10.000 And I really think it's taught me so much about just courage when it shouldn't be courageous to be true to who you are.

00:21:17.000 Unfortunately, it is right now, but I do feel a shift.

00:21:21.000 I do feel a turn.

00:21:23.000 I know that The feedback I've gotten from so many people who are still there, and many others on the outside.

00:21:29.000 Like I said on stage, I didn't know there was this other world out there.

00:21:35.000 I mean, I was suspicious.

00:21:36.000 I'm like, hmm, he seems nice.

00:21:38.000 I agree with this or that, but you're afraid to go there.

00:21:40.000 And what I've found is that people are kind even if they disagree.

00:21:46.000 I think Twitter and the internet can be... Not in real life.

00:21:48.000 It's not, but that's what's shoved down our throats.

00:21:51.000 I do also, I know this, that like my decision to stand up when they silenced me, cancelled me, took me off my show, suspended me, took this, like all the things.

00:22:01.000 It wasn't because, all I asked for was an apology.

00:22:04.000 When I talked to my attorney, finally, who's the same attorney, by the way, that Megyn Kelly had, that Tucker Carlson currently has, even Don Lemon, Chris Harrison, one of my dear friends who hosted The Bachelor back in the day, we all have the same attorney.

00:22:15.000 If you get kicked by your TV network, we all know who to call.

00:22:17.000 You call Brian Friedman.

00:22:19.000 And when I talked to him, he was like, absolutely.

00:22:22.000 All we asked for was an apology from Disney.

00:22:24.000 And they laughed.

00:22:26.000 If they had just apologized and owned it and gave me my assignments back, I would never have... Listen, I got divorced.

00:22:32.000 I didn't even use an attorney for my divorce.

00:22:34.000 I should have.

00:22:35.000 So, like, I'm the least litigious person, okay?

00:22:36.000 Sorry, too much information.

00:22:38.000 Like, I didn't want to do any of that, but I knew that if I didn't do it at that moment, like, literally say goodbye to Frankly, my soul.

00:22:50.000 And with three kids who are watching everything that I do, that was that moment.

00:22:54.000 But when they chose to not, to not do that, to not apologize, then we went forward with it.

00:23:00.000 But literally, if it hadn't been for the way they treated my peers, which was, you can go on NBA Countdown and talk about how upset you are that Roe vs. Wade was overturned.

00:23:11.000 You can talk about George Floyd.

00:23:13.000 You can talk about all the politics on NFL, NBA, SportsCenter shows.

00:23:16.000 Yeah, that's what I think of on NBA Countdown.

00:23:18.000 Why?

00:23:19.000 Like, to your point, why go there?

00:23:21.000 But I go on a podcast on an off day to talk about why I'm upset that I'm being forced to take a vaccine to keep my job.

00:23:27.000 Not a vaccine, by the way.

00:23:28.000 mRNA, gene altering shot.

00:23:28.000 Thank you.

00:23:29.000 I need to change that.

00:23:30.000 You're right.

00:23:31.000 This is my own opinion off the platform.

00:23:33.000 Like, I wouldn't even wear my cross, you guys, on TV because I respected the separation. 0.80

00:23:37.000 And as a journalist, I'm not trying to share my opinion on that news program.

00:23:43.000 I'm so excited to be able to wear this cross now.

00:23:44.000 It has been a lifetime of getting there.

00:23:47.000 But... Isn't that the best?

00:23:48.000 It's so weird, but I just, I think all we are asking for is consistency.

00:23:53.000 So back to the leaders, at the end of the day, you can't crush me and punish me and literally blow up my career for what I said about my own opinion about being biracial and what has come with that.

00:24:04.000 That's my experience.

00:24:05.000 And I did not do it on your airwaves specifically, but then let all of my peers do just that to the nth degree.

00:24:12.000 I just wanted consistency and I'm done with the hypocrisy.

00:24:15.000 Otherwise I would never have sued and so I'm glad they made those decisions because I wouldn't be here today and no longer having that fear of being true to my... Listen, my daughter's in a high school, just graduated from high school, where you can be a girl today, a boy tomorrow, and a cat on Thursday.

00:24:30.000 So like, I'm done with... So you're fine with that, but I can't...

00:24:35.000 Talk about my beliefs with a vaccine.

00:24:37.000 Vaccine.

00:24:38.000 Or my experience as a woman of color.

00:24:41.000 Like, I'm out.

00:24:43.000 Which one is it?

00:24:44.000 It's all or nothing.

00:24:44.000 So yeah, you're able to pull rank as a woman of color as long as it's leftist.

00:24:49.000 Correct.

00:24:50.000 But if you want to be a conservative woman of color, you're nothing to them.

00:24:54.000 Correct. 0.99

00:24:55.000 And by the way, if I had said, all you anti-vaxxers, you're selfish. 0.82

00:24:59.000 If I had said that, I would be celebrated. 0.86

00:25:01.000 I would still probably be there. 0.87

00:25:04.000 And again, that's the hypocrisy.

00:25:05.000 And if we don't call it out on our platforms, which I never expected to have a voice.

00:25:11.000 I just wanted to talk about sports.

00:25:12.000 I didn't know what it would turn into, but now I literally feel like the two reasons why I'm on this earth.

00:25:18.000 I have these three beautiful psycho college age kids who are my, they're my everything and my why.

00:25:24.000 And to speak up.

00:25:26.000 I just didn't know that that would be my path.

00:25:29.000 And God has given me now the confidence to do it.

00:25:32.000 And most importantly, to get there, I'm finally okay with being disliked.

00:25:37.000 And that was scary.

00:25:39.000 That was hard.

00:25:40.000 So that's fascinating.

00:25:41.000 That's so important.

00:25:41.000 I want to emphasize that.

00:25:43.000 Upon self-examination, did you always feel the need to be liked?

00:25:47.000 Oh my goodness, I was such a pleaser.

00:25:49.000 It's like the worst disease ever.

00:25:50.000 I was such a pleaser and firstborn and only girl and just perfectionist in every way and I still find myself doing that sometimes, which is why I don't read comments really good or bad anymore because it's just, it's such a waste of time and I am grateful for the good but I know that I'd focus on the one, right?

00:26:09.000 The one bad one.

00:26:10.000 And my mother, at one point, said to me, after the first time I got in trouble, like in 2017, and it was coming off of Trump being elected, and then all the players kneeling, and I'm like, wait, you're complaining about Trump being in there, and you didn't even vote!

00:26:23.000 These are athletes, NFL athletes, and they, like, just vote, and then you can complain, but otherwise, shut up, I don't want to hear it.

00:26:29.000 So I said something to that effect, a little bit more polite on Twitter, and that was when I first got in trouble, and it was bad.

00:26:36.000 And my mother, called me and she's crying and she's tough and she's like, please just delete the comments, just go through, delete it.

00:26:44.000 And I was like, mom, if I delete that, it makes it look like it didn't happen.

00:26:49.000 People need to see what happens when you are on the wrong side.

00:26:54.000 And so that was the beginning, you know.

00:26:57.000 That was the beginning of letting go.

00:26:59.000 Letting go of the fear of being disliked.

00:27:02.000 I imagine at ESPN, though, there are other people that are very unhappy millionaires, where they're being paid a lot of money, but they're being held captive by a woke corporation.

00:27:13.000 And do they communicate with you without any names?

00:27:17.000 You know, do they?

00:27:18.000 Here or there?

00:27:19.000 Here or there?

00:27:20.000 But at the end of the day, a couple.

00:27:23.000 I mean, a lot of them were the behind-the-scenes people who are my people.

00:27:27.000 The producers and the researchers and the cameramen and women.

00:27:30.000 And they're the ones that I don't get the credit for making ESPN what it is.

00:27:34.000 And they thanked me.

00:27:35.000 And I saw someone at the grocery store the other day who's like, I wanted to find you before you left.

00:27:40.000 I'm so sorry it wasn't more vocal and like, it was an emotional conversation at Whole Foods the other day.

00:27:45.000 You know what I mean?

00:27:46.000 And that's the thing, like, I get the fear.

00:27:49.000 I always say that there's huge risk.

00:27:51.000 I left millions of dollars.

00:27:53.000 Like, I did.

00:27:55.000 And the next day, it's like, I don't know where my next paycheck is coming from.

00:27:59.000 I didn't.

00:27:59.000 I don't.

00:28:01.000 I'm starting my new show.

00:28:02.000 You know how long it takes to build.

00:28:03.000 Like, I'm not getting a paycheck right now.

00:28:06.000 But I've never been more at peace.

00:28:09.000 Despite having so much responsibility.

00:28:12.000 Again, three kids in college at the same time.

00:28:14.000 And it's just me.

00:28:16.000 But Sage, I hear from people all the time, I can't speak out because I don't, I need money.

00:28:22.000 I get it.

00:28:23.000 Like, I get it.

00:28:24.000 And I did have, you know, a nice savings, but like not forever.

00:28:29.000 And how about just when you make it to the top?

00:28:32.000 Whatever that means.

00:28:33.000 But you know, years at that network, you make it to the top, you just stay quiet.

00:28:37.000 You just keep that going until they say no.

00:28:40.000 And it is, there is ego involved in everything we do, right?

00:28:44.000 When we've built for careers, like, am I going to be okay?

00:28:47.000 Like not being That face anymore.

00:28:50.000 I was one of the faces of the network.

00:28:52.000 And now I'm in airports, you know, I always have been, but I look at it differently and I'm walking by every restaurant, every bar, every TV screen in every airport is maybe CNN, but otherwise it's all ESPN or ESPN2.

00:29:05.000 And I'm like, gosh, that 12 to 2 Eastern, that was me for all of these years.

00:29:10.000 And I thought I would miss it more.

00:29:13.000 And I just don't because I didn't realize how it had built up in here and because I feel like now I'm talking about things that are a lot more important, you know?

00:29:24.000 I love that.

00:29:27.000 What role did your faith play in all of these decisions?

00:29:30.000 Everything.

00:29:30.000 My faith.

00:29:32.000 I've always had a strong faith, but it's another level now.

00:29:37.000 It is.

00:29:37.000 I remember the day of the decision to get my shot.

00:29:43.000 Gotta not say vax, right?

00:29:44.000 Get my shot. 1.00

00:29:45.000 Shot. 1.00

00:29:45.000 Get the shot. 1.00

00:29:46.000 Um, and I had to get it by September.

00:29:49.000 I had to be fully vaxed by September 30th, 2021, which means two weeks prior.

00:29:52.000 I think he had to get it and I chose the one shot, whatever that was.

00:29:56.000 Um, and I remember being so upset because I knew if I didn't do it, then I'd be fired.

00:30:00.000 And I got, I prayed, prayed, prayed, and I got in the shower and I just asked God for a sign one way or another.

00:30:07.000 And.

00:30:10.000 I open my eyes in the shower and on the other side of the glass, there's this really ugly marble tile that I look at it every day, like thousands of times.

00:30:20.000 I've looked at that area when I open my eyes, when I'm washing my hair and this marble was in the shape of an angel.

00:30:27.000 This one time.

00:30:28.000 And I literally started sobbing.

00:30:30.000 And I took that as, um, you're gonna be okay.

00:30:35.000 Like, I'm not gonna let whatever's in this shot hurt you.

00:30:39.000 And you're doing it for the right reason to keep your job because you're kids.

00:30:43.000 So go do it.

00:30:44.000 And that moment, um, was insane for me because I asked for a sign.

00:30:51.000 And I think quite often we don't ask for the signs.

00:30:54.000 Just ask.

00:30:55.000 And then you're looking for a sign to drop.

00:30:56.000 Not necessarily.

00:30:57.000 It might hit you in the face, right?

00:30:59.000 The other moment that I want to share that I actually haven't talked about this much is, I didn't say this earlier, I took the shot, I did the podcast, I got in trouble, got suspended, and then I got COVID really bad.

00:31:10.000 Like, of course, right?

00:31:11.000 Safe and effective, yeah.

00:31:13.000 Great.

00:31:13.000 So I'm so sick.

00:31:16.000 My kids and I had just gone through the divorce.

00:31:18.000 It was a devastating time in general in my life.

00:31:22.000 As a woman of faith, as a Catholic, where divorce is not okay, my own disappointment, like so much, and the pandemic and all of the things.

00:31:31.000 And I was so sick, Charlie, and I My heart after getting that shot was racing so fast.

00:31:37.000 I literally thought I was having a heart attack or I was dying with the COVID.

00:31:42.000 And so I, it was three in the morning and I was alone.

00:31:44.000 I'd been alone for eight days.

00:31:46.000 Kids were at their dad, like I was alone.

00:31:48.000 And I just was going to get in the shower and drive myself to the hospital.

00:31:50.000 And when I got up to take a shower.

00:31:52.000 I fell over.

00:31:52.000 I had nothing in me.

00:31:54.000 And I realized that if I fall in the shower, no one will find me.

00:31:57.000 I hit my head and that'll be it.

00:32:00.000 And so I got back in bed and prayed that I would wake up the next morning.

00:32:06.000 And I did, obviously, but my lowest moments is when I've asked for just a sign, not do this for me or don't do this, just guide me, just lead me.

00:32:19.000 And those times, and then when I had terrible headlines, terrible headlines, lies that were written about me.

00:32:26.000 And I couldn't get off the ground and my mom and dad, who are now 78 and 75, this is three years ago, my dad has two kinds of cancer.

00:32:33.000 He's not supposed to be around someone with COVID at the time, bad COVID.

00:32:36.000 My mom and dad, doesn't matter how old you are, they got in their car and they drove up and they lifted Their 50-year-old daughter, little girl, off the ground to say, we've got you and we're doing this together.

00:32:48.000 And every single day from the end of my suspension to the day I left ESPN, I pulled into the parking lot to go do the show.

00:32:54.000 And my parents, we would say a prayer.

00:32:58.000 Saint Michael the Archangel.

00:33:01.000 Um, basically protecting you from the wickedness and snares of the devil.

00:33:04.000 And I felt like I had a bubble around me every day when I went in there from people that hated me that I worked with, from all the fears I had to go be myself while I'm in an active lawsuit while on national TV with that company every single day.

00:33:17.000 And literally, God got me through every ounce of it.

00:33:21.000 And that's why I have this piece, even though I don't know what tomorrow brings.

00:33:26.000 If I were still there, I would never have been allowed to sit with you, to meet so many kind people here at this summit conference for the weekend that you have poured your heart and soul into.

00:33:36.000 There's so many blessings when you push through fear that I had no idea.

00:33:41.000 And when I was filing the lawsuit, and I'll shut up, I promise.

00:33:44.000 When I was filing the lawsuit the night before, I went to each one of my kids and said, listen, this is what's going to happen tomorrow.

00:33:52.000 I don't want you to feel like you have to defend me.

00:33:54.000 You don't have to agree with me. 0.97

00:33:56.000 Tell the teachers and coaches who say crap to you diversity of thought. 0.97

00:34:01.000 And my mom has her right. 0.94

00:34:03.000 And my son looked at me and I said, I am sorry if anything comes your way.

00:34:07.000 They've gotten hate, they got death threats because of my opinions on social media, my kids.

00:34:12.000 And my son looked at me and he goes, it's about time you stood up for yourself.

00:34:17.000 And he was 17.

00:34:18.000 So, if we don't, if we live in this fear of trying to please, of trying to protect your kids from difficult things, of losing your job, of losing your money, of losing your status, losing all those things, Friends, my friends circle is like this big now because they left.

00:34:38.000 But it's okay because they were there for a season and that taught me what?

00:34:42.000 When you do have friends, you know who your people are and you are there for them when they need it too.

00:34:48.000 So it's actually all of this and the cancellations and the hate is such a blessing and I wouldn't know that without my faith.

00:34:56.000 Sage Steele, everybody.

00:35:00.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

00:35:01.000 Email us, as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - August 18, 2024

Sage Steele is Done Hiding Her Beliefs

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