Sam Ponder’s almost 13-year run at ESPN got here to an finish this week. On Thursday, The Athletic reported that the community has parted methods with the “Sunday NFL Countdown” host.
Ponder is believed to have had time remaining on her seven-figure contract. Nevertheless, the corporate’s ongoing effort to discover alternatives to chop prices as the tip of the group’s fiscal yr attracts close to prompted the choice to fireplace the TV host, in keeping with The Athletic. A supply acquainted with Ponder’s dismissal additionally informed Fox Information Digital that it was a enterprise resolution.
The previous Kentucky swimmer and the host of OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast floated a distinct concept about ESPN’s resolution to maneuver on from Ponder.
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Samantha Ponder speaks at Contained in the Recreation Q&A introduced by IFA on February 2, 2018, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Thaddaeus McAdams/WireImage)
“So ESPN fires Sam Ponder, the only woman at the network who was publicly said men don’t belong in women’s sports. 3 weeks before football season?” Gaines posted on X, previously Twitter, on Thursday. “Sam is one of the most beautiful, genuine women I’ve ever met along with Sage Steele who had a similar fate….not a coincidence.”
Gaines additional defended Ponder and stated the tv host was “incredible at her job.”
“We saw just this week where Sam Ponder, one of the – I have had the pleasure of being able to spend some time with her,” Gaines stated throughout a latest episode of “Gaines for Girls.”
“One of the most beautiful, kind, authentic, genuine, intentional people you could ever meet on a personal level, of course she is incredible at her job. We saw this week where ESPN, yes that’s right, ESPN, owned by Disney of course, fired Sam Ponder.”
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Gaines pushed again in opposition to the idea that Ponder was let go for budgetary causes, and highlighted the cases when the sports activities host shared social media posts about transgender athletes collaborating in girls’s sports activities.
“This was news to me, I was looking up what was the reasoning, they said this was for budget cuts, but it should be no surprise that Sam Ponder was the only current employee, the only current female employee at ESPN who was willing to publicly declare that men do not belong in women’s sports. Just about a year ago, Sam, she quoted one of my tweets talking about the Biden administration and Title IX and what they were doing to this ruling effectively abolishing Title IX.”
Former College of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks at an occasion. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA Right this moment Community)
“She quoted one of my tweets and said that it wasn’t hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls. Then USA Today columnist Nancy Armor, she then attacked Ponder for her views. She claimed that her views reflected bigotry and they were a sham. Ponder, she has been the host of ESPN’s NFL Countdown since 2017, she went on to then respond to this article by Nancy Armor saying that biology is not bigotry and even went on to say that loving people does not require the absence of boundaries. Absolutely.”
Gaines additionally in contrast Ponder’s dismissal to former “SportsCenter” anchor Sage Steele’s exit from the community.
“But now she has received the Sage Steele treatment, the David Pollack treatment, both guests who have been interviewed on the Gaines for Girls podcast and so I encourage you to go back and listen to those episodes. All of that to say, ESPN is a joke, we absolutely stand with Sam Ponder. Again, one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met, so it’s ESPN’s loss. No doubt she will land [on] her feet, she will be doing just fine for herself.”
Then-ESPN anchor Sage Steele talks on set throughout Recreation 4 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors on June 7, 2019, at Oracle Area in Oakland, California. (Rey Josue II/NBAE through Getty Pictures)
Steele filed a lawsuit in opposition to her then-employer after she claimed that ESPN had suspended her in retaliation for remarks she made associated to Disney’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate throughout a podcast look. Disney is ESPN’s mum or dad firm.
“I respect everyone’s decision, I really do, but to mandate it is, um, sick,” Steele stated in September 2021 when she was a visitor on NFL quarterback Jay Cutler’s “Uncut” podcast.
“And it’s scary to me in many ways. But I have a job, a job that I love, and, frankly, a job that I need. But, again, I love it. I’m not surprised it got to this point, especially with Disney, a global company . . . but it was actually emotional.”
Shortly after reaching a settlement with ESPN in 2023, Sage introduced her exit from the corporate after 16 years.
Steele determined to go away what she described as her “dream job” within the hopes she might train her “First Amendment rights more freely.”
Steele additionally provided assist for Ponder on Friday and expressed pleasure concerning the now-former ESPN worker’s future prospects.
“This is another loss for ESPN, but it is a gain for literally the rest of the world because now you’re going to see the true Sam Ponder,” Steele stated in a video posted to social media. “It’s all going to come out, and I hope you’re ready. She is a gem.”
Barstool Sports activities founder Dave Portnoy additionally reacted to the information of Ponder’s firing.
“No Sam Ponder bottle, can you believe that?” Portnoy stated on Thursday. “Listen, I took the first shot at Sam Ponder. Was it joking? Yeah. Do I think she and ESPN overreacted? I know so. But I’m fair. And I’ve said this about Ponder, buried the axe, buried the hatchet. I have no champagne bottle for her.”
Ponder and Portnoy have been embroiled in a feud in 2018. Shortly earlier than “Barstool Van Talk” was scheduled to premiere on ESPN, Portnoy advised that Ponder had been the catalyst behind the present’s demise, which led to a confrontation between the 2. “Barstool Van Talk” was canceled after only one episode.
Sam Ponder attends SiriusXM At Tremendous Bowl LVII on February 10, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Cindy Ord/Getty Pictures for SiriusXM)
Ponder was not the one distinguished ESPN character to publicly specific views on transgender athletes. As controversy surrounding Olympic boxer Imane Khelif grew, NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky shared a put up on X which learn, “Protect our daughters.” Orlovsky later deleted the put up.
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Longtime “College GameDay” analyst Kirk Herbstreit stated he now not plans on “biting his tongue” about athletes’ participation in sports activities.
“It’s almost like there are two different sets of rules,” Herbstreit stated on Tuesday throughout an look on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me! with Dan Dakich.”
” . . . and if you have a view that’s a little bit more traditional — I’m a Christian guy, it’s like there’s a different set of rules for that viewpoint and it’s hard to just turn the other cheek time after time after time. I didn’t really care.”
Ponder has but to publicly deal with ESPN’s resolution to half methods along with her.
ESPN additionally fired former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III on Thursday. He joined the corporate in 2022 and labored as an analyst on “NFL Live.” He was additionally a school soccer analyst and appeared on “Monday Night Countdown.” Former Philadelphia Eagles middle Jason Kelce was tapped as Griffin’s alternative on the NFL pregame present getting into the 2024 season.
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