ESPN is altering its “SportsCenter” lineup, swapping two anchors who reportedly clashed over the summer.
Elle Duncan will be promoted to the 6 p.m. ET time slot with Kevin Negandhi in mid-January, while Sage Steele will be moved to the noon show alongside Matt Barrie, the network announced Tuesday.
In July, Steele had accused Duncan and anchor Michael Eaves of convincing ESPN management to exclude her from a network special on race following George Floyd’s death while in police custody in Minneapolis because she “wasn’t considered by certain Black colleagues to be an authentic voice for the Black community,” a source told the Wall Street Journal.
Sage Steele; Elle DuncanGetty ImagesSteele, whose father is black and mother is white, expressed those concerns to ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro in June, claiming “the incident showed the network has a divisive work environment,” according to the report.
“I found it sad for all of us that any human being should be allowed to define someone’s ‘Blackness,’” Steele said in a July statement to the Journal. “Growing up biracial in America with a Black father and a white mother, I have felt the inequities that many, if not all Black and biracial people have felt — being called a monkey, the ‘n’ word, having ape sounds made as I walked by — words and actions that all of us know sting forever.
“Most importantly, trying to define who is and isn’t Black enough goes against everything we are fighting for in this country, and only creates more of a divide.”
ESPN denied that Steele was left out of the June 24 special, titled “The Undefeated Presents Time for Change: We Won’t Be Defeated,” due to her colleagues’ complaints or that her personal views played any part in the decision.
Steele, whose father is a retired Army colonel, criticized Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans via social media in 2016 for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. The following January, she complained about the disruption caused by protests at LAX against a travel ban on people from primarily Muslim countries.
In addition to her new “SportsCenter” role, Steele will host a “periodic interview program” for the subscription ESPN+ platform as part of the pending lineup changes.
“As I begin my 15th year at ESPN, I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to continue my dream job of hosting SportsCenter,” Steele was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s release. “I am so thankful to ESPN for allowing me to do so by returning to my roots at noon ET while raising three teenagers.”
Duncan, who is currently on maternity leave, said in the release she is “honored to host the 6 p.m. SportsCenter and ultimately thrilled to work at a company that continues to offer new challenges and opportunities for growth.”







