Sam Ponder laughingSam Ponder (Photo via @samanthaponder/IG)
Sam Ponder’s previous comments on transgender athletes are going viral again following her release from ESPN.

Ponder, who took over hosting ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ for the network in 2017, was fired on Thursday. The Worldwide Leader in Sports also let Robert Griffin III go.

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, who broke the story, reported that the firings were budget-related. Still, there has been lots of speculation over whether what she had to say about transgender athletes last year had something to do with the decision to terminate her.

Several social media accounts, including that of swimmer Riley Gaines, have implied that Ponder was fired because she opposed men’s participation in women’s sports.

“I barely said anything publicly abt this issue & I’ve had so many ppl msg me, stop me in the street to say thank you + tell me stories abt girls who are afraid to speak up for fear of lost employment/being called hateful,” the sportscaster. “It is not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls.”

 

Sam Ponder Stuck To Her Guns

Ponder’s tweet was a polarizing one. While she was lauded for speaking out against the woke agenda, lots of people accused her of bigotry.

She refused to back down from the take and, just earlier this month, tipped her hat to Kirk Herbstreit for saying men do not belong in women’s sports, adding he does not care about the backlash.

“I’m done giving any s***s at all about any of it. It’s almost like there are two different sets of rules, and if you have a view that’s a little more traditional, or I’m a Christian guy, it’s like there is a different set of rules for that viewpoint,” he told OutKick in an interview. “It’s hard to just turn the other cheek time after time after time.”

Given her talent, Sam Ponder will likely land another media job soon. But ESPN has to figure out who’s going to replace her now.

Brittney Griner Finally Breaks Her Silence Over Alleged Caitlin Clark Comments That The WNBA Refused To Investigate

Brittney Griner speaking to reporterBrittney Griner (Photo via Twitter)
WNBA star Brittney Griner was at the center of a new debate over what she allegedly said in a game against basketball phenom Caitlin Clark.

The Atlanta Dream center found herself at the center of social media controversy last month when some fans thought she disparaged Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark upon fouling out.

The game’s broadcast focused on an upset Griner saying something as she returned to the Dream bench after fouling out of the game. While there’s no audio of this moment, some who tried to read Griner’s lips thought she called Clark a “trash f–king white girl.”

However, there’s no proof of Griner saying those actual words since others thought she stated something else.

It took weeks for someone to finally get a quote from her, and she provided much of nothing.

Brittney Griner was asked about this moment before her team’s June 15 game against the Washington Mystics and said, “I remember fouling out, being mad. I remember fouling out on, I believe it was [Natasha] Howard driving to the basket. They said I put my hand in.”

WNBA Chooses Not To Investigate Brittney Griner

Griner Drops F-Bomb, Apologizes Amid Clark Slur RowBrittney Griner (Photo By Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
Moments before the conclusion of the Indiana Fever’s 81-76 victory over the Dream at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta weeks ago, cameras seemingly caught Atlanta Dream star center Brittney Griner labeling Caitlin Clark “trash” before calling her a “f***ing white girl” in frustration over a foul on Natasha Howard.

The clip of Griner speaking on the bench, lacking context, spread on social media and went viral.

Griner, who won a gold medal for Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, essentially got aw@y with whatever came out of her mouth because the league basically ignored the controversy.

This incident is not the only time Griner vocalized her frustrations this season. Following another game, she stormed off mid-interview, yelling at the referees to “be f—ing better.