Former ESPN host Sage Steele said the network deserved to be crushed for not showing the national anthem on its main channel before the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans after the terrorist attack that took place in the city the day before.
Steele appeared on “OutKick the Morning” and seemed stunned that ESPN was unable to show the national anthem that day, which the company attributed to “time issues.”
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The national anthem is played before the 2024 Sugar Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and the Washington Huskies at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
“It was so atrocious, I tweeted about it and put it on my Instagram, and I really try to stay away from anything revolving around my former employer. That life is gone, and I’m so glad it’s over. “Grateful for those years, I couldn’t help it, Charly, because for me it was such a blatant decision to skip,” Steele told OutKick host Charly Arnolt on Tuesday.
“You’re a mile away, maybe less than New Orleans, from where all those people were murdered the morning of what was supposed to be the game that was on ESPN. And you chose to ignore it when people are suffering and is it much bigger than football? They were crushed, and rightly so, for not doing so.
Steele said ESPN showing the pregame prayer last week was a reaction to the backlash he received over the Sugar Bowl.
sage steel (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Bullseye Event Group/File)
ESPN BROADCAST PREGAME PRAYER FOR COTTON BOWL AFTER REJECTION FOR NOT SHOWING NATIONAL ANTHEM AFTER TERRORIST ATTACK
“So I absolutely think this was a reaction to that. I think it actually crossed the line…showing the national anthem,” he said. “Do you need to show the prayer? And I also believe that the prayer was… they said it was to pray for the victims of the California fires, as well as the terrorist attack in New Orleans. [We’re] A little late for that.”
“Listen, I pray every day. I pray for those people constantly, so I guess we shouldn’t focus on that,” Steele continued. “But from a business perspective, what are we doing? Just being consistent. And I guess it wouldn’t be good if they were consistent in this case, right? Because [would’ve] “He continued to do something wrong for humanity.”
(John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images/File)
“That’s what this is. This is bigger than business, this is bigger than sports. It’s about humanity, and I guess [I] I wasn’t surprised by what happened at the Sugar Bowl. “I was very sad and disappointed because this is the reason, one of the many reasons why ESPN as a whole is no longer what it was.”
