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ESPN host Sage Steele was attacked Monday on Twitter after saying she was "saddened" that anti-Trump protests at the Los Angeles International Airport were thwarting so many people's travel plans.
"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 the way but had no chance of making their flights," Steele posted to Instagram Sunday.
According to the Los Angeles Times, there were thousands of protesters at LAX and, in order to get around them, Steele said she and other travelers were forced to walk nearly 2 miles to get into the airport.
Protesters flooded LAX — and many other airports across the U.S. — over the weekend in protest of President Donald Trump's executive order freezing the refugee resettlement program and temporarily banning entry into the U.S. from several Muslim-majority countries.
While Steele said she "love[s] witnessing people exercise their right to protest," she was "saddened" to see the "joy" on protesters' faces "knowing that they were successful in disrupting so many people's travel plans."
"Yes," she continued, "immigrants were affected by this as well. Brilliant."
Shortly after she shared her comments, social media users took to Instagram and Twitter to lambaste Steele, an African-American, for her post. Many of the attacks focused on one thing in particular: her race.
Several Twitter users sarcastically charged that Steele wouldn't have been supportive of the civil rights movement, which was driven by acts of civil disobedience, because it was inconvenient.
"Ma'am we don't have time for this, some of us are trying to get home" - sage steele to Rosa parks— Desus Nice (@Desus Nice) 1485779460.0
"I can't believe Rosa made my bus late." @sagesteele https://t.co/pGZU2Wmf81— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari Sellers) 1485781192.0
Sage Steele makes Stacey Dash look like Harriet Tubman. https://t.co/JK5QpN2EsN— NUFF (@NUFF) 1485781348.0
Sage Steele would have told Dr. Martin Luther King that she wasnt able to catch a cab because his March in Selma disrupted cab service— ABlackWomanWhoDontGiveAF*ck (@ABlackWomanWhoDontGiveAF*ck) 1485778981.0
Sage Steele is impulsive & lack critical thought. She will be traded during the next racial draft. https://t.co/WC7GT3SNA9— soulonice13 (@soulonice13) 1485785006.0
"What a shame. The March on Washington forced me to drive an extra 20 minutes to the store." -Sage Steele in 1963— James (@James) 1485784029.0
Steele took the time to respond to some of her attackers, telling them she has no problem with the protest itself, but wanted to point out that the demonstration also negatively impacted some non-American travelers.
@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 (@Sage Steele) 1485761733.0
@TaylorRooks pretty seeing ppl who couldn't speak english upset/emotional missing their flights--the same ppl protesters were there for? Lol— Sage Steele (@Sage Steele) 1485761939.0
@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 (@Sage Steele) 1485762455.0
@DuncanSmithNBA deep breaths, Duncan...deep breaths. And then re-read the entire post without bias. Or not.— Sage Steele (@Sage Steele) 1485766702.0
This isn't the first time the self-described "Army brat," whose father was a colonel in the U.S. Army, has faced criticism for political reasons.
Last year, Steele was criticized for cutting off Win Butler, the frontman for the Canadian rock band Arcade Fire, when he started talking politics at the NBA's Celebrity All-Star game in February.
Butler started advocating for socialized medicine, but before he said too much, Steele interjected: "So, we’re talking about celebrity stuff, not politics."
