– Sage Steele to leave ESPN as part of lawsuit settlement
– Steele faced a lawsuit from wardrobe stylist Lauren Reeves
– She will be replaced by Elle Duncan on SportsCenter
ESPN’s Sage Steele will be leaving the network following a lawsuit settlement with her wardrobe stylist Lauren Reeves. Steele, who has been with ESPN since 2007, will be replaced on SportsCenter by her colleague Elle Duncan.
Rea Banks, ESPN’s vice president of production, announced in a memo to the staff on Wednesday that Steele will “exit the network as part of a comprehensive and confidential settlement of her recently filed lawsuit against the company.” The lawsuit reportedly stems from a wardrobe stylist, Lauren Reeves, alleging, “Steele mistreated and made derogatory comments toward her.”
Banks went on to say, “Elle Duncan will assume Steele’s spot on the weekday 6 PM SportsCenter along with co-anchor Kevin Negandhi.” Duncan has been part of the ESPN team since 2016, working as a SportsCenter anchor and providing commentary for various ESPN shows.
Additionally, Banks acknowledged Steele’s contributions to the network, stating, “Sage has made significant contributions and achieved numerous milestones during her long tenure at ESPN.” Steele has been part of multiple ESPN projects, including SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, and E:60, among others.
The announcement on the settlement comes after ESPN faced backlash for its handling of Rachel Nichols’ leaked comments about Maria Taylor last year. The network has since made leadership changes and implemented new policies in an effort to address internal conflicts and issues relating to diversity and inclusion.