The Sage Steele Show

I have known David Pollack for years. We worked together at ESPN, we have been friends through some of the hardest seasons of each other's lives, and I have always respected him deeply. But I did not know the full story until he sat down with me for this conversation.

David was a three-time All-American at Georgia, second only to Herschel Walker in program history. He was a first-round NFL Draft pick. And in year two of his professional career, he broke his neck. A burst fracture at C6 and C7 that nicked his spinal cord. His wife Lindsay nursed him back to health for three months while he wore a halo screwed into his skull. He went from benching 455 pounds to struggling with 135. He says there was no mourning. Just gratitude for what had already happened and a quiet belief that something better was coming next.

That belief carried him through 15 years at ESPN, a departure from the network he gave everything to, and then the phone call no husband wants to get. Lindsay had brain cancer. She had a seven-hour craniotomy. And thirty minutes after coming out of surgery, with her head still bandaged and her left arm barely working, she raised both arms and praised God.

We talk about all of it. His philosophy of building identity from the top down instead of the outside in. Why he turned down a massive sponsorship deal because it involved gambling. His new podcast. His thoughts on women's sports and the trans athlete conversation. What it actually feels like to get fired from a job you loved after 15 years. And why he coaches his daughter's basketball team and has never missed a game since leaving ESPN.

This is one of the most honest and moving conversations I have had on this show.

Sponsors:
Get 15% off all Amallow products with code SAGE at checkout: http://amallow.com/sage

Do you know what's in your tap water? Get $250 off your purifier at http://www.covepure.com/SAGE

Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code SAGE at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/SAGE. Hydrate your liver at the cellular level with LTV. If you're tired, bloated, or feel like water isn't working anymore, this could be the fix. Get up to 64% OFF for a limited time at http://drinkltv.com/Sage

I have been looking forward to this conversation for a long time.
Nick Vujicic is someone I had the privilege of getting to know first as a person before I ever sat across from him as a guest. And what you see in public is nothing compared to who he is behind the scenes.
Nick was born in Australia in 1982 with no arms and no legs. Nobody knew until the moment of birth. The doctor's first words to his parents were an apology for not catching it on the sonogram and an offer to have aborted him. His mother was a nurse and the head of the birth suite at her hospital. She had seen hundreds of births. Nothing prepared her for this one.
At age 10, Nick tried to take his own life. At 15 he found a Bible verse that changed everything. At 17 a janitor told him God was going to take him around the world to speak. He laughed. He has now spoken in 87 countries to over 11 million people in person. 1.5 million of them responded to the gospel.
In this episode Nick talks about the suicide attempt, the bullying, how his disability was rejected as a reason for his family's green card application to America, how he was canceled by a false viral article, debanked by JP Morgan Chase, had a grenade thrown at his property and a bomb squad called, and what he calls being hijacked by his own Christian friends. He also tells the cream puff proposal story, talks about his four kids, the documentary No Limbs No Limits, and the shoes he keeps in his closet just in case God heals him.
This one is everything.
Sponsors:
Provide one life-saving ultrasound for just $28 at https://preborn.com/sage.
Get 15% off OneSkin with the code SAGE at https://www.oneskin.co/SAGE #oneskinpod #sponsored
Go to http://cozyearth.com/SAGE for up to 20% off!

BTS on Patreon:
http://bit.ly/4nLmOSk
The Sage Steele Show is a weekly podcast hosted by former ESPN anchor Sage Steele. Each week, Sage sits down with entertainers, athletes, business people, and politicians to have deep dive personal one on one discussions that enlighten, entertain, and engage. There's a whole big world out there that's not just sports, and Sage wants to talk about all of it.
#sagesteelepodcast #sagesteele #podcast
Subscribe to the Channel for more Podcasts like this!
Listen to the Show on all Podcast Apps "The Sage Steele Show" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sage-steele-show/id1737682826
Follow Sage:
https://www.sagesteele.com
https://x.com/sagesteele
https://www.instagram.com/sagesteele
https://www.tiktok.com/@officialsagesteele
https://rumble.com/c/SageSteeleProductions

Jeff is one of the funniest comedians working today. He is also two years and four months sober, still grieving his sister who died in a car collision in 2015, his father who passed recently, and quietly carrying a faith he spent years hiding from the comedy world because he was afraid it would cost him his career.
In this episode, Jeff talks about what COVID actually did to him, locked alone in a giant house in Los Angeles with guns, alcohol, a breakup, and a world that felt like it had decided straight white males were the enemy. He talks about the moment in Dallas he has never publicly shared that made him finally put the drink down. He talks about growing up poor, finding church in ninth grade not because he was religious but because the church kids had snacks and answers. And he talks about his sister, who believed in him from the beginning and was gone before she could see how far he went.
This one sat with me. I think it will sit with you too.
Follow Jeff Dye: @jeffdye
Sponsors:
Go to http://cozyearth.com/SAGE for up to 20% off!
Use my code SAGE to get $25 off your first order, plus a free meat for life: https://www.goodranchers.com/
Get 15% off OneSkin with the code SAGE at https://www.oneskin.co/SAGE #oneskinpod #sponsored
Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code SAGE at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/SAGE.

It has been three years since Stephen A. Smith and I sat face-to-face, and today, he is finally sitting in my living room in Florida! We have been teammates, rivals, and friends through some of the most turbulent years in media history, but this is a conversation you will never see on a sports network.

Stephen A. Smith is more than just a "performer"—he is a brand built on a foundation of early failure and a refusal to be silenced. This is a masterclass in authenticity, resilience, and the power of a human connection that transcends politics.

Sponsors:
Provide one life-saving ultrasound for just $28 at https://preborn.com/sage.

Use my code SAGE to get $25 off your first order, plus a free meat for life: https://www.goodranchers.com/

Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code SAGE at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/SAGE.

I sat down with Kennedy and this conversation went places I didn't expect.
Before Fox News, before The Five — she was fighting to even be allowed to talk about politics. MTV put it in writing.
What she did next is exactly why I respect her. 

Sponsors:
Ready to give MASA a try? Get 25% off your first order by going to
http://masachips.com/sage and using code SAGE.

Go to https://expressvpn.com/sage and find out how you can get 4 extra months thanks to our sponsor, ExpressVPN!

Provide one life-saving ultrasound for just $28 at https://preborn.com/sage.