The Athletic reported on Thursday that Samantha Ponder, host of “Sunday NFL Countdown” and longtime writer for ESPN who used to cover college football, has been fired. Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III was also fired by the network, which is owned by Disney.
The Athletic and Fox News both said they talked to sources who said both sportscasters were fired for “financial reasons.”
However, Ponder’s firing seems odd because it happened just a few days after the ESPN host spoke out against transgender men playing women’s sports.
On August 6, Kirk Herbstreit, host of ESPN’s “College Gameday,” replied to an X post that asked if “men belong in women’s sports.” This was the turning point.
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“Of course not.” “What a silly question,” the former Ohio State quarterback wrote.
When Ponder responded to Herbstreit’s tweet with two clapping hands emojis, an X user told her to “define woman and man” and asked if “a woman [with] XX chromosomes but extremely high testosterone” is a woman. “XY = male XX = female” was what the sportscaster wrote in her answer.
Since Ponder is a Christian, this wasn’t the first time she spoke out in support of women’s sports. Outkick says that Ponder first talked about the problem in May 2023, telling her fans that it is “not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls.”
According to a tweet by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, “I barely said anything public about this issue and I’ve had so many people message me, stop me in the street to say thank you, and tell me stories about girls who are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs or being called hateful.” This is what the now-former ESPN host said.
Ponder’s firing isn’t the first time ESPN has fired someone for publicly supporting views that aren’t on the left.
In October 2021, Disney-owned network suspended “SportsCenter” host Sage Steele because she spoke out against the company’s Covid shot rules and Barack Obama for saying he was black even though he has a white mother, like Steele. When Steele sued the next year, she said that ESPN and Disney infringed her First Amendment rights by suspending her because of the comments.
The lawsuit was finally over in August 2023, which is when Steele quit ESPN.
Steele made a film in which she backed Ponder after she was fired on Thursday.
Steele said, “Samantha has taught me a lot about God, the Bible, not giving up, and standing tall.” “I just want everyone to know that this woman is smart, a great mother, and has made me a better mother too…” I’m so happy for her future.
Why Men Competing In Women’s Sports?
This is a time when it is not uncommon to see transgender men or women competing in women’s sports. Sometimes it seems as though Governor and Capitalisms are encouraging transgender people to participate in sports that are traditionally reserved for women.
Everyone is aware that women do not possess the same level of physical strength as males, including transsexual guys who assert that they are female. Even so, he or she is significantly more powerful than women.
The debate regarding the participation of men in sports meant for women. Talking about transgender equality is something that supporters do. Inclusion is essential to achieving equality, and sports should be afforded the same kind of opportunities as everyone else.
There is a great deal of controversy regarding this issue, and there are those who advocate for separate categories or more stringent restrictions in order to guarantee that female athletes are able to participate in an equitable manner.
