Stephen A. Smith had a lot to say about Sage Steele leaving ESPN. The often controversial Sportscenter anchor settled her lawsuit against ESPN and Disney and then decided to leave the company so she could “exercise [her] first amendment rights more freely,” and now the First Take pundit has weighed in on the situation.

On The Stephen A. Smith Show, the longtime talking head worked through his thoughts on the polarizing Steele. Smith explained that Sage Steele lawsuit against ESPN alleged the network used “selective enforcement” while dealing with employees’ statements on social and political issues.

The TV personality said he “doesn’t necessarily vibe with her assertion that there were different rules for her.” He also said that he doesn’t fully agree with her politics. However, he also noted that she is a “consummate professional” on TV.

He defended ESPN, too, saying that the rules weren’t selective for her, but the network analyzes all situations on a case-by-case basis, and that is based on how comments and actions affect the network’s finances.

“If I say something and it ultimately costs ESPN dollars and as a result, ESPN says, ‘You got to go,’ they’re not saying I have to go because of my politics. They’re saying I have to go because I compromised their bottom line,” Smith said. “And I think that’s the position all corporations should take, as opposed to trying to curtail or silence anybody because you think their individual words are going to be a reflection on the whole. It is not when you let everybody speak.”

Smith did admit that he believes that it is tough to be a Black conservative in the current political climate and that he doesn’t support any company censoring talent.

“I think it’s a mistake when a corporation tries to silence anybody,” Smith explained. “I think you let everybody speak, that way the company doesn’t get blamed for the positions and individual takes. The individual has to be culpable for the words that we articulate and the impact that it has ultimately on us.”

In the end, Stephen A. Smith said he and Sage Steele will always be on good terms.

“She’s always been cool with me, and I’ll always be cool with her. That’s just the way it’s going to be,” the analyst concluded.