ESPN’s Sage Steele was injured after being hit by an errant shot at the PGA Championship Friday.
According to writer Geoff Shackelford, Steele was struck in the face and bloodied by an errant shot hit by Jon Rahm. Per the New York Post, she was hospitalized and later returned to Connecticut from the tournament site in Tulsa. She will not return to the tournament over the weekend.
Per the Post, Steele was not actively working at the time of the incident, having completed her on-air SportsCenter duties earlier in the day. She was reportedly watching the tournament from the gallery with other credentialed media.
ESPN did not appear to mention the incident in its coverage Friday.
This is not the first time a member of the media has been struck by objects in the field of play. Just recently, Colorado Rockies sideline reporter Kelsey Wingert was struck in the head by a foul ball — for the second time in her career.
Perhaps most relevant to this discussion, the late ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott was sidelined for two months in 2002 after being struck in the eye by a football while covering Jets camp. Scott, who had previously been injured in his other eye after being struck by a basketball years earlier, had to have multiple surgeries.
Steele, it should be noted, is in the midst of a lawsuit against ESPN alleging the company breached its contract and violated her first amendment rights in violation of Connecticut law. The suit stems from ESPN’s decision to sideline Steele following comments she made on a podcast last year.
[The Quadrilateral 5.19, NYP 5.19, Orlando Sentinel 5.29.2002]
