Sage Steele Says Warren Sapp Called Her Out for Wearing Granny Panties As a Young Reporter

Sage Steele was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, and Kimmel asked for horror stories about interviewing athletes. “I color my hair every three weeks,” said ESPN’s NBA Countdown host. “I’m completely gray, and it began because of locker room experiences … I went from Indianapolis to Tampa, brand new, young, scared, and trying to impress as a journalist. Warren Sapp called me over [in the preseason], introduced himself, and asked me where I was from. I said, ‘I’m from Indianapolis’ and he [condescendingly] said, ‘Yeah, I can tell.'”

Thinking that she didn’t have an accent or fit most Indiana stereotypes, Steele wondered how he knew, but Sapp said he wouldn’t tell her until their bye week in the middle of the year. “It’s very easy,” said Sapp during the Bucs’ midseason bye. “All women from Indianapolis — Naptown — wear Granny Panties.”

The Wall Street Journal profiled Steele earlier this week, who described how her diet, workout routine, and high metabolism enable her to stay tremendously fit as a 41-year-old mother of three.