Total Pro Sports
Eleven months after her dismissal from ESPN, Samantha Ponder finally broke her silence on the network’s stunning decision.
Samantha Ponder joined ESPN in 2011 after a brief stint at Fox Sports. The Liberty University graduate worked various roles with the Worldwide Leader in Sports, including stints on “NFL Sunday Countdown,” “College GameDay” and the Longhorn Network.
It was widely assumed that Ponder was fired because of her posts on X/Twitter about transgender athletes.
This included the following post after misinformation spread about Algerian boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, with some incorrectly speculating that Khelif is a male:
XY= male XX= female
— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) August 7, 2024
Samantha Ponder addressed her unexpected firing from ESPN during a recent appearance on “The Sage Steele Show.” Ponder thinks it was more the “timing” of the social media posts that led to her firing.
Ponder claims that an “activist group” at the Walt Disney Company (the owner of ESPN) was upset with her posts, but she insists that being laid off turned out to be a positive for her:
“I don’t really think me losing my job was solely because of that, but the timing of it almost certainly was. I was told after the fact privately that most people at the top of the company did agree with me on the issue but there is a loud activist group at Disney and they were not happy with me. I can say all that and tell this part of the story and still tell you, Sage, it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.
“I was on that hamster wheel and I was not going to jump off on my own. I needed to get kicked off. As much as the part of the reasoning behind it is legit crazy, I feel no bitterness or even frankly sadness. I had a great career, I was 20 years in the business. I met some awesome people and there are still some really great people there. Never thought this would kind of be the way out but should have spoken up a long time before, I should have been a lot more courageous when I knew what was right.”
She also claims to have received an email from ESPN, warning her about the transgender posts on social media. Ponder also insisted that she was “trying to give more spotlight” for the women’s stories.
Samantha is married to Christian Ponder, a former NFL quarterback and 2011 first-round pick who spent four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Though he never lived up to expectations, Ponder did help Minny to a surprise playoff appearance in the 2012 season.
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