Former ESPN broadcaster Sage Steele said the network should be punished for failing to play the national anthem on its main channel before the Sugar Bowl in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New Orleans the day before.
Steele appeared on "OutKick the Morning" and was surprised that ESPN failed to play the national anthem that day, which the company blamed on "timing issues."
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The national anthem is played before the 2024 Sugar Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies at the Kaiser Superdome in New Orleans. (Stephen Lue-USA TODAY Sports)
"It was so shocking, I talked about it on Twitter and put it on my Instagram and I really tried to stay away from too much to do with my former employer. That life has "I'm grateful for those years, Charlie, because for me, it was a blatant decision," Steele told host OutKick's Charlie Arnott on Tuesday.
"You're a mile away from here, maybe closer than you are in New Orleans, with all the people being murdered the morning of the game on ESPN. When people are suffering and suffering, you choose to ignore it." It's worse than How much bigger is a football? They were crushed, and rightfully so, because they didn't do it. "
Steele said the pregame prayer that ESPN aired last week was a reaction to the backlash surrounding the Sugar Bowl.
sage steele (Jesse Grant/Getty Images Bullseye Campaign Team/File)
ESPN airs pregame prayer for Cotton Bowl after backlash over not playing national anthem following terrorist attacks
"So, I definitely think it's a reaction to that. I think it's actually a little bit over the top ... playing the national anthem," she said. "Do you need to show a prayer? I also believe the prayer is - they said it was a prayer for the victims of the fires in California and the terrorist attack in New Orleans. (We were) a little late for that."
"Listen, I pray every day. I pray for those guys constantly, so I guess we shouldn't focus on that," Steele continued. "But from a business perspective, what are we doing? Be consistent. I guess if they were consistent in this situation, that wouldn't be a good thing, would it? Because they (would) continue to do the wrong thing for humanity And do things.”
(John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images/File)
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"That's it. This is bigger than business, this is bigger than sports. It's about humanity and I guess (I'm) not surprised by what happened in the Sugar Bowl. I'm just very sad and disappointed because it's this It’s one of the reasons why ESPN as a whole isn’t what it used to be.”
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