Longtime ESPN broadcaster, Sage Steele, has announced her departure from the company after nearly two decades. The 49-year-old revealed that she settled her lawsuit against ESPN and decided to leave in order to have more freedom in exercising her First Amendment rights. In a statement, ESPN confirmed that they and Steele had mutually agreed to part ways and expressed gratitude for her contributions.

The lawsuit arose from comments Steele made during a podcast interview in September 2021. During the interview, she criticized Disney’s vaccine mandate and former President Obama’s identification as Black. Steele accused ESPN of breaching her contract and selectively enforcing its policy on employee comments regarding politics and social issues.

Steele claimed that ESPN violated her free speech rights and relied on inaccurate third-party accounts of her comments. She alleged that the network forced her to issue an apology, despite her willingness to apologize personally. The broadcaster joined ESPN in 2007 and gained prominence on shows like “SportsCenter” and “NBA Countdown.”

It is worth noting that Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.