Sam Ponder was fired by ESPN on Thursday after she was at the company for well over a decade, and many people feel the decision was politically motivated.
Ponder and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III were fired by ESPN in what Andrew Marchand of The Athletic referred to as “cost-cutting moves.” At least in Ponder’s case, there seems to be a belief that there was much more to it than that.
Earlier this month, Ponder took to social media to make some of her thoughts clear on the gender controversy that reached a boiling point during the Summer Olympics in Paris. Ponder indicated via X that she does not believe biological men should be able to compete in women’s sports.
ESPN is going to run all of the sane people out of the building. Sam Ponder had too much common sense to continue to be employed there. pic.twitter.com/PJrJyRcdGi
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) August 16, 2024
One popular theory is that ESPN cut ties with Ponder because of that.
BREAKING: ESPN has *FIRED* @samponder, who is one of the ONLY women at the network to speak out against biological men playing in women's sports.
Ponder made headlines in May 2023, when she agreed with swimmer @Riley_Gaines_ speaking out against Lia Thomas participating in… pic.twitter.com/tYOBiu4Zkb
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) August 15, 2024
So ESPN fires @samponder, the only woman at the network who was publicly said men don't belong in women's sports. 3 weeks before football season?
Sam is one of the most beautiful, genuine women I've ever met along with @sagesteele who had a similar fate….not a coincidence. pic.twitter.com/igeC87UOnK
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) August 15, 2024
Wow @espn just fired @samponder, the only woman still employed at the company to speak out forcefully against men competing in women’s sports, a couple of weeks before the football season started citing “budget cuts.”
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 15, 2024
.@ESPN got rid of @samponder, the only female sportscaster to stand up for women’s sports and female athletes. @nike is silent on protecting women’s sports while pretending to care about female athletes.
The sports establishment is cowardly and corrupt. They choose wokeness…
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) August 15, 2024
@espn just fired Sam Ponder, the last woman trying to keep men out of women's sports.
— Blain Crain (@Blain_Crain) August 15, 2024
Marchand noted that ESPN is nearing the end of its fiscal year and had to trim some payroll. Both Griffin and Ponder were making more than seven figures annually, and Ponder’s only role with the network was as host of “Sunday NFL Countdown.”
Ponder had been with ESPN since 2011. Longtime ESPN/ABC college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit has also been very vocal recently in expressing his thoughts on biological men competing in women’s sports. One of Ponder’s social media posts was actually a response to something Herbstreit said about the topic.
If ESPN did fire Ponder in part because of her stance on the gender controversy, network executives would never admit it. We know of at least one former ESPN employee who would certainly believe it, however.
