When Bill Simmons was reportedly working to oust Sage Steele from her role as anchor of ESPN’s NBA Countdown show in 2014, it was apparently Skip Bayless who helped Steele behind the scenes.
In the latest episode of The Sage Steele Show, the two recalled a long walk together during the 2014 NBA Finals in which Bayless shed light on background machinations led by Simmons to get Steele off the show. Steele revealed that the changes blindsided her, while Bayless saw it coming.
“I didn’t know what was fully happening around me with Bill Simmons, who did not want me on that show,” Steele told Bayless on the podcast. “And you gave me the heads up and just were kind, with no ill words about him. It was literally like, ‘I know you, I see you and I love you as a friend. And you need to watch your back and you need to be careful, and know that they’re coming.'”
In truth, it was the summation of a prolonged power struggle between Simmons and the show’s producers, with Steele caught in the middle. As it was reported upon Simmons’ departure, he ultimately lost that fight. Simmons wanted a more casual vibe for the show (a la Inside the NBA) and, after supposedly forcing his pal Jalen Rose onto the show, felt he could dictate its personnel. Simmons’ frustration with Steele bubbled up onto the air during one viral halftime moment, in which Simmons sharply requested to speak while Steele was setting up a new topic, chirping that it had “been ten minutes” since he last spoke.
Eventually, it was Simmons who left Countdown. His next NBA commentary gig came as part of the short-lived Grantland Basketball Hour television series, which ended after he was fired in the fall of 2015.
But if not for Bayless, it sounds as if Steele may have never been privy to the momentum Simmons had to exert even more influence over Countdown.
“That’s when the toughness really began, I think,” Steele said. “That whole season, when I thought, wait a minute, I’m just here to be a host. Why doesn’t he like me? What did I do wrong? And it was not even about me. He didn’t want a host; he wanted a talk show format without a host. And they threw me in, so I was the devil.”
Presumably, Steele must have been aware of Simmons’ qualms before talking with Bayless. After all, Simmons didn’t make a secret of it. However, reading between the lines of their podcast conversation this week, it sounds as if Bayless forecasted potential changes to the show in Simmons’ favor. Getting the heads up, Steele was able to wrest control of her career back and last another three seasons on Countdown.