ESPN’s Sage Steele Blasted for Complaining About LAX Protests

In the midst of the political turmoil that’s gripping the U.S., it’s easy to forget that America’s biggest sporting event, Super Bowl LI, is happening next week.

And ESPN anchor Sage Steele was terribly inconvenienced by the backlash to President Donald Trump’s refugee ban as she travelled to cover the football game over the weekend.

“So THIS is why thousands of us dragged luggage nearly 2 miles to get to LAX, but still missed our flights,” Steele vented on Instagram.

She was supposed to travel from Los Angeles to Houston on Sunday so she could cover the big game. (Buildup to the event has been widely rejected by the viewing public who have popularized the hashtag #NotMySuperBowl — largely because fans would have rather seen the Steelers and Packers face off instead of the Patriots and Falcons.)

The entire airport in Los Angeles was backed up when Steele arrived for her flight, thanks to hordes of protesters decrying the new executive order that put a 90-day ban on all citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Syria and Iran. And she vented her frustration:

So THIS is why thousands of us dragged luggage nearly 2 miles to get to LAX, but still missed our flights. Fortunately, a 7 hour wait for the next flight to Houston won’t affect me that much, but my heart sank for the elderly and parents with small children who did their best to walk all that way but had no chance of making their flights. I love witnessing people exercise their right to protest! But it saddened me to see the joy on their faces knowing that they were successful in disrupting so many people’s travel plans. Yes, immigrants were affected by this as well. Brilliant. ????????

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A photo posted by Sage Steele (@sagesteele) on Jan 29, 2017 at 11:12pm PST

Steele got responses to her social media rant from colleagues who strongly disagreed with her. She responded to them on Twitter: 

@TaylorRooks has nothing to do w what I “prefer”. Comical to see the process used to determine when it’s “ok” to disrupt. It wasn’t…

– Sage Steele (@sagesteele) January 30, 2017

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@JSB_TV re-read it, Julie! It’s about so much more..including them affecting the exact people for whom their protesting! Doesn’t make sense

– Sage Steele (@sagesteele) January 30, 2017

But those outside of the sports media sphere were not nearly as diplomatic towards Steele and her comments.

@sagesteele the nerve of MLK to block that bridge in Selma. Didn’t he know that he was tying up traffic! What a jerk!!!!

– Kevin King (@KevPKing) January 30, 2017

Oops @sagesteele was inconvenienced by democracy.

— Ann Killion (@annkillion) January 30, 2017

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Stacy dash and Sage Steele pic.twitter.com/43q96BXIyy

— brandon humble (@playb0y52) January 30, 2017

Sage steele is the perfect example of what is destroying our culture. Selfishness over selflessness. Personal gain over the public good

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— ♻️ Christopher Zullo (@ChrisJZullo) January 30, 2017

Sage Steele… If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. – Desmond Tutu

— cem (@cemhimself) January 30, 2017

Sage Steele is impulsive & lack critical thought. She will be traded during the next racial draft. pic.twitter.com/WC7GT3SNA9

— soulonice13 (@soulonice13) January 30, 2017