Sage Steele is a winner. She beat the ESPN censors and scored a victory for all of us

New OutKick host Charly Arnolt discusses her new show and what the culture at ESPN for free speech was like in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Editor's note. This column first appeared on OutKick .

Sage Steele won.

We make that declaration today not knowing the financial details of her settlement with ESPN and parent company Disney, which she announced Tuesday on X, the company formerly known as Twitter:

"Life update. Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely.  I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!"

The dollar figure of the settlement is secondary. A dollar figure was never going to determine the success of the settlement. In fact, the lawsuit never included a dollar figure.

SAGE STEELE LEAVES ESPN, WANTS TO 'EXERCISE MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS MORE FREELY'

Sage Steele did not sue ESPN/Disney to get rich. Quite the opposite.

ESPN paid Steele $3 million a year. As a biracial woman at ESPN, she could have earned that or similar for the next decade.

Were money her motive, all she had to do was stay silent, keep her conservative opinions to herself, do as Disney commands, and not sue her employer.

Instead, she risked the security of future seven to eight-figure contracts, a cushy job on television, and a presence on the top sports network in the industry. Financially speaking, Steele’s lawsuit was not wise.

But she filed it anyway, knowing that the end result, whatever it would be, would lead to her eventual departure from ESPN. Steele knew the lawsuit would force her to worry about her career, her future, and her income for the first time in 16 years.