Sage Steele Memes And Gifs Go Viral As Black Twitter Rejoices ESPN Host Gets Replaced

Longtime ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele has been replaced as the network's lead NBA anchor, the sports channel announced Tuesday. Another ESPN personality, Michelle Beadle, would be taking Steele's spot as lead host on " NBA Countdown" on ABC and ESPN, which are both owned by parent company Disney.

The move was met with great excitement from Black Twitter, which has repeatedly expressed outrage over Steele's positions she held when it comes to the intersection of African-Americans and race. Dozens of memes and gifs popped up on Twitter mocking Steele's ouster, as it remained unclear what role she would play with ESPN moving forward.

Read: ESPN Host Causes Controversy After Instagram Post About Travel Ban

Without mentioning Steele, Beadle, who is white, said she was happy to get the full-time gig.

"The only thing better than working for Connor Schell and Kevin Wildes is being able to spend each day with all of the incredibly talented people at NBA Countdown and SportsNation," Beadle said in a brief statement in reference to the past ESPN shows she has worked on. "It's the best job in sports."

Black Twitter promptly reacted with a variety of memes and gifs.

The source of the apparent happiness on black Twitter was derived in part from umbrage over Steele's stances on American racism. She has been outspoken on the topic, including when she said during a panel discussion that black people are hypocrites when it comes to racism.

"There are times that I believe that we, as African Americans, can be hypocritical, and that is to not look ourselves in the mirror when we are saying certain things and blaming other groups for one thing when we are doing the exact same thing," Steele said in February. "The worst racism that I have received [as a biracial woman married to a white man], and I mean thousands and thousands over the years, is from black people, who in my mind thought would be the most accepting because there has been that experience. ... But even as recent[ly] as the last couple of weeks, the words that I have had thrown at me I can’t repeat here, and it’s 99 percent from people with my skin color. But if a white person said those words to me, what would happen?"

Steele also posted controversial comments seemingly defending President Donald Trump's travel ban that affected several Muslim-majority countries. The sports personality was upset that people protesting the ban were delaying her travel plans in Los Angeles in January.

But perhaps the single-most thing that may have irked black people on Twitter was her stance on NFL players' protests of the National Anthem.

"Instead of praising or uplifting each other, way too many people of color choose to tear down, mock and spew hatred at other blacks who feel differently, think differently, or make decisions that are different from theirs," Steele wrote on her Facebook page. "That, my friends, is hypocrisy at its best. Or should I say, its hypocrisy at its worst."

In making the personnel announcement, ESPN Vice President Kevin Wildes, like Beadle, also made no mention of Steele, leaving some to speculate what her fate was.

"I’ve had the wonderful experience of working directly with Michelle for several years and as predicted, she’s made a tremendous mark on NBA Countdown since joining the show in October," Wildes said. "It’s very rare to find a commentator who can so masterfully combine intelligence, candor, and humor and she does it all while keeping her finger on the pulse of the NBA. Like a great point guard, she makes everyone around her better and we’re looking forward to this next chapter in Michelle’s career as she leads us forward on NBA Countdown."