{"id":7019,"date":"2026-08-20T16:22:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7019"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:22:52","slug":"sage-steele-says-doc-rivers-turned-on-her-in-nasty-espn-feud-im-going-to-show-you-my-dms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7019","title":{"rendered":"Sage Steele says Doc Rivers turned on her in nasty ESPN feud: ‘I’m going to show you my DMs’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Former ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele didn\u2019t hold back while discussing \u201cpassive aggressiveness from NBA coaches,\u201d such as Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr, that she received when she voiced her conservative views and support for President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Read more Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\u2019s UK comeback raises 8 burning questions 6 years after Megxit<\/a><\/p>\n

During an interview with \u201cThe Rubin Report,\u201d Steele claimed Rivers sent her \u201cpages and pages of why I\u2019m such an idiot to be a Republican or conservative and support Donald Trump\u201d and unfollowed her on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust knowing that so many of them are full of s\u2013t with what they say versus what they do. And seeing the passive aggressiveness from some of these head coaches, whether it\u2019s Steve Kerr or Doc Rivers \u2014 these people that I used to call a friend, especially Doc,\u201d Steele said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 Out of the blue, he would send me clips, and I\u2019m like, \u2018I just want to talk basketball with you\u2019 or \u2018How are your kids? You have grandkids now.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd instead it\u2019s, \u2018I\u2019m so disappointing in the sellout thing\u2019 \u2014 with a coach. I think that again, that\u2019s what turns people off with sports. It doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have that opinion. I did too. I just happened to not do it when I was working in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele went onto speculate whether players with conservative views would be afraid to share them publicly, fearing they might face reduced playing time. <\/p>\n

Read more How Harry and \u2018thirsty\u2019 Meghan \u2018squandered\u2019 their chance in Hollywood and alienated everyone: \u2018Good riddance\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so when they say these things and they\u2019re quite uneducated about it and then they\u2019re saying it to their guys too and their staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo those players are put in very difficult positions because if they speak up to someone like a Doc Rivers or Steve Kerr, I dont know how he handles that in his locker room \u2014 but is that going to effect my playing time?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Steele \u2014 who was a former \u201cSportsCenter\u201d anchor with ESPN \u2014 explained that she doesn\u2019t miss working at the network level because of the political aspect of sports. <\/p>\n

Steele left ESPN in August 2023 after both sides settled\u00a0a lawsuit she filed\u00a0following her being removed from the air in October 2021 for comments she made about the company\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,\u201d Steele, who worked at ESPN since 2007,\u00a0said at the time.<\/p>\n

Read more Lindsay Clancy trial live updates: Mysterious jury drama as chaplain reveals killer mom\u2019s haunting reaction to kids\u2019 deaths<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele didn’t hold back while discussing “passive aggressiveness from NBA coaches” that she received when she voiced her republican views and support for President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nSage Steele says Doc Rivers turned on her in nasty ESPN feud: 'I'm going to show you my DMs' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sage Steele says Doc Rivers turned on her in nasty ESPN feud: 'I'm going to show you my DMs' - 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