Sage Steele Says Doc Rivers DM'd Her To Bash Her Over Trump

Sliding in DMs usually comes with romantic connotations, and embarrassment usually follows when celebs are caught in 4K.

But not for NBA coach and former player Doc Rivers, who found himself sending a private message to sports reporter Sage Steele in the name of politics.

During a recent appearance on Dave Rubin’s The Rubin Report podcast, the former ESPN reporter admitted to not watching any NBA games from the 2025-26 season until the playoffs.

What turned her off was the behind-the-scenes politics, specifically naming Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Rivers.

“Just knowing that so many of them are full of sh-t with what they say versus what they do. And seeing the passive aggressiveness from some of these head coaches, whether it’s Steve Kerr or Doc Rivers — these people that I used to call a friend, especially Doc,” Steele said around the 19-minute mark.

She takes that former friend label pretty seriously, adding that their only communication now is him berating her for supporting Donald Trump.

“I’m going to show you later, the DMs from this man,” Steele continued. “Pages and pages of why I’m such an idiot to be a Republican or conservative and support Donald Trump. Out of the blue, he would send me clips, and I’m like, ‘I just want to talk basketball with you’ or ‘How are your kids…?’”

She’s upset that their friendship has morphed into him judging her for her conservative views. She’s also worried that other people in the NBA’s ranks may fear coming forward with their political views for fear of being judged or isolated.

“Instead, it’s, ‘I’m so disappointed’ and the sellout thing with a coach. That’s what turns people off with sports. It doesn’t mean you can’t have that opinion. I did too. I just happened to not do it when I was working in sports,” she added.

There seems to be no reconciliation for Steele and Rivers, because she claims he’s since blocked her.

Her heel turn to politics began in 2021 when ESPN benched her for calling Disney’s vaccine mandates “sick” and “scary,” which she’d later sue them for.

She’s since questioned Barack Obama’s identity as a Black man because he’s half white and claimed women sports reporters should take some ownership of sexual harassment because of how they dress.

See how social media is reacting to Rivers’ DM sliding below.