ESPN reportedly axes Sam Ponder in surprise move — but many believe her criticism of men in women's sports played role



ESPN has reportedly let go of two its most recognizable on-air personalities: Samantha Ponder and Robert Griffin III.

On Thursday afternoon, Andrew Marchand of the Athletic reported on X that ESPN had fired Ponder and RGIII to cut costs.

ESPN has fired hundreds of employees in the past several years as part of larger restructuring efforts. However, this fiscal year, Ponder and Griffin appear to be the only ones getting the boot, Marchand noted.

Griffin, a former Heisman winner who spent several seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Washington Redskins, joined the network in 2021 and still had two years left on his contract.

He had also recently been demoted from his role on "Monday Night Countdown," according to the New York Post.

Griffin also appears to be taking the news in stride, posting to X a short, humorous clip from the movie "Friday" in which character Willie Jones asks his son Craig: "How the hell you gonna get fired on your day off?"

'She had the wrong politics and dumping her salary frees up cap space for ESPN to overpay Stephen A Smith.'

Ponder's apparent firing is more surprising. She has been with the network since 2011 working as a sideline reporter. She made frequent appearances on the hit show "College GameDay" and eventually become the host of "Sunday Night Countdown."

However, she has also repeatedly criticized male infiltration into sports and teams reserved for women and girls.

"What's happening to women in sports is insane," Ponder tweeted in April 2023, "and any reasonable person knows it."

A month later, she expressed support for those cowed into silence on the topic out of "fear of lost employment/being called hateful."

"It is not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls."

— (@)

Now, many believe that Ponder is the one who has "lost employment" for demanding "fairness in sports for girls." Awful Announcing noted that she had "increasingly strayed" from ESPN's request that on-air personalities "stick to sports."

Riley Gaines also weighed in, noting that with former "SportsCenter" co-host Sage Steele gone as well, the Worldwide Leader in Sports now has no woman there who wants to preserve women's sports for women only.

"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?" Gaines wrote. "Sam is one of the most beautiful, genuine women I've ever met along with @sagesteele who had a similar fate....not a coincidence."

Bobby Burack of OutKick agreed, telling Blaze News that it makes no sense for ESPN to fire Ponder, whom he described as ESPN's "lead NFL host," three weeks before the NFL season kicks off just to save a few bucks.

"Keep in mind, Sam Ponder was the only woman left at ESPN who has publicly rejected the idea that we should celebrate men for calling themselves 'trans' and competing against women in female competition," Burack told Blaze News.

Jason Whitlock, host of BlazeTV's "Fearless," also indicated to Blaze News that Ponder's "politics" almost certainly played a role in the decision.

"A lot of factors at work with ESPN releasing Sam Ponder," Whitlock told Blaze News. "She had the wrong politics and dumping her salary frees up cap space for ESPN to overpay Stephen A Smith."

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Liberals rage over Travis Kelce liking Sage Steele photos with Trump, Candace Owens, and more at UFC event



NFL player and reigning Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce may have exercised too much freedom on social media for the left-wing populace to handle.

Kelce, who has become a media darling for his relationship with Taylor Swift and his promotion of Pfizer vaccines, went too far according to many when he liked an Instagram photo.

The photo was posted by former ESPN anchor Sage Steele, who has made appearances in conservative circles since leaving the network. Still, Steele landed on Bill Maher's network for her new podcast.

"What. A. Night. After years of covering [UFC] at ESPN, I FINALLY got to see it live & in person. Game changer. THANK YOU [Dana White] ... for EVERYTHING!" Steele wrote on Instagram.

"Great people, great event, great fights! (Check out the last video - it's the final minute of the main card fight .. so intense!!!) #ufc299 (cue the divisive, close-minded thoughts and unfollows in 3...2...1…" she added.

Steele's photos included her shaking hands with President Trump, as well as posing with several personalities that included entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David, political commentator Candace Owens, influencer SteveWillDoIt, and podcaster/actor Vincent Oshana.

It took a month after the images were posted for online sleuths to realize that Kelce had liked the post, an apparent faux pas among left-leaning voters.

As reported by Trending Politics, Kelce liked the post and dared to follow Steele's page. This elicited many strong reactions from social media users.

"Why is travis kelce following a trump supporter + just generally conservative a**hole," an X user, who referred to herself as a "Barbie" asked.

why is travis kelce following a trump supporter + just generally conservative asshole
— (@)

"Travis Kelce can eat s**t for all I care. He’s a drunk, xenophobic, fat phobic, trump loving, a**hole," another user wrote.

Travis Kelce can eat shit for all I care. He\u2019s a drunk, xenophobic, fat phobic, trump loving, asshole.
— (@)

The women at "The View" had varying opinions on the matter, as they appeared guilty of the same alleged crimes due to past micro transgressions.

"Travis Kelce sparked a lot of outrage online after he liked a social media post that featured multiple photos of you know who," Whoopi Goldberg said, of course referring to President Trump.

Cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin added that she "lives in fear" of liking social media posts that she doesn't want to be seen interacting with and has the habit of removing her interaction with posts.

Joy Behar said that while she dislikes President Trump, she has public pictures with his son Eric and wife, Lara, and deemed those social media posts to not mean "anything" because they were taken before the Trump presidency.

Sunny Hostin, on the other hand, declared that she believed Kelce had liked the post by mistake and that he had since removed his approval since facing backlash. She was immediately corrected by a producer in her ear that he had indeed not removed his like from the post.

TRAVIS KELCE SLAMMED BY TAYLOR SWIFT FANS: #TheView co-hosts react to Swifties slamming the tight end for liking a post featuring former Pres. Trump on social media. https://t.co/cVclFZQU98
— (@)

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ESPN star blasts Disney's 'sick,' 'scary' vaccine mandate, says she got the jab but 'didn't want to do it'



ESPN host Sage Steele revealed this week that she got a COVID vaccine shot required by her bosses, even though she "didn't want to do it," The Hill reported.

In an interview with former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler on his podcast, "Uncut With Jay Cutler," which was posted Wednesday, the "SportsCenter" host lamented that the Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, mandated the shots for all employees and explained that the only reason she took the shot was because of the company's "sick" and "scary" mandate.

What happened?

Steele told Cutler that Disney had given employees until the end of September to get vaxxed or hit the bricks, so she took the jab, despite wanting to avoid it.

"I didn't want to do it," she told Cutler. "But I work for a company that mandates it, and I had until Sept. 30 to get it done, or I'm out."

She then offered Cutler a biting and honest assessment of Disney's command that all employees get vaccinated, calling the company's strong-arming "sick" and "scary."

"I respect everyone's decision, I really do, but to mandate it is sick, and it's scary to me in many ways," Steele said. "But I have a job, a job that I love and, frankly, a job that I need.

"I'm not surprised it got to this point, especially with Disney, I mean a global company like that," she added, noting that her problem is not with the vaccine but with the mandate.

"The mandate is what I really have an issue with," Steele said. "I don't know what comes next, but I do know for me personally, I feel defeated."

"It's one thing with masks," she said, adding, "It's another thing when you force this."

Relevant portion begins at the 48:30 mark:

This isn't the first time Steele has made public statements to challenge the COVID narrative promoted by the federal government.

Last week, she mocked mask mandates for children in response to a tweet comparing the number of kids shot in Chicago this year compared to the total number of children who have died by COVID-19 nationwide.

"KIDS. SHOT. The sick trend continues as it has for YEARS in Chicago," Steele wrote. "Funny how no one talks about it publicly..much less does anything about it. But yes -- let's keep masking up our children! SMH. Once again, when facts don't fit the narrative."

@ClayTravis KIDS. SHOT. The sick trend continues as it has for YEARS in Chicago. Funny how no one talks about… https://t.co/dCMb7BmkwJ

— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) 1632427687.0

And on Tuesday, she retweeted NBA star Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, who wrote, "Misrepresentation only allows for others to attack straw men, and not reason with the true ideas and heart of their fellow man. It helps no one! True journalism is dying! I believe it is your God given right to decide if taking the vaccine is right for you! Period!" the New York Post reported.