Black Sports Online Calls ESPN’s Sage Steele a ‘MAGA Operative’

AP Sage Steele
Warner Todd Huston

Liberals are already attacking ESPN’s new SportsCenter host Sage Steele before she’s even hosted her first show, and they’re doing it by calling her a MAGA stooge.

Robert Littal, a left-winger who runs Black Sports Online, jumped to his column to slam ESPN for its decision the second he found out Steele had been assigned as host of a revamped SportsCenter.

Because it appointed Steele to SportsCenter, Littal accused ESPN — the most left-wing sports outlet on TV — of cowering in the face of conservative complaints. Littal said that the network removed outspoken liberal activist Jemele Hill from SportsCenter  because “they couldn’t deal with the pushback from MAGA.” He then added, “So, it makes sense they would find a black person who is fully MAGA to replace them.”

Littal further claimed that Steele “hates being black.”

On Wednesday, Littal tweeted: “Sunken Place MAGA Operative Sage Steele to Host 6pm Sportscenter Because ESPN Wants to Appease Trump Supporters By Using a Black Will Cain:”

“Sunken Place” is a reference to a comment by Jordon Peele, director of the recent thriller Get Out, who said a “sunken place” is a place where “the voice of minorities” is silenced.

Littal’s attack was echoed by many on Twitter, but the name calling was called “unhelpful” by The Big Lead’s Ryan Glasspiegel in a May 10 post.

“Every time Steele’s name is in the news there is a group of people on social media who essentially insinuate that she is a race traitor,” Glasspiegel wrote adding that Littal’s hate-filled attack is “an ineffective form of criticism.”

Glasspiegel concluded by accusing Littal of doing little else but “riling his base” but otherwise doing nothing to “advance mutual understanding.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

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