Ex-ESPN star blasts ‘loopy’ reason she was laid – Sports News
ESPN parted methods with each Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III in late August final yr, marking one other wave of layoffs on the sports activities broadcasting giant.
Ponder discovered herself in sizzling water simply a week previous to her dismissal after she made contentious remarks on her X concerning Olympic boxing champ Imane Khelif’s gender identification, a subject that additionally noticed commentary from her colleague Kirk Herbstreit.
This week, FOX joined the trend by releasing a number of distinguished figures, eyeing three notable broadcasters as potential replacements. On the Sage Steele Show, Ponder acknowledged that her controversial post was not the only real reason for her ESPN exit – however did play a function within the resolution. ESPN has made a host of cuts lately, whereas axing long-running fan favourite ‘Around the Horn’.
“As much as the part of the reasoning behind it is legit crazy, I feel no bitterness or even frankly sadness,” Ponder, 39, confided to Steele, who has additionally been an ESPN alum. “I had a great career, I was 20 years in the business.
“I do not actually assume my dropping my job was solely as a result of of that, however the timing of it nearly actually was,” she elaborated, reports <a href=”https://www.irishstar.com/sport/other-sports/sam-ponder-espn-firing-comments-35569200″ rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Irish Star</a>.
Post-ESPN, Ponder learned that while many company executives shared her views, a vocal activist group within Disney was displeased: “I was advised after the very fact privately that the majority people on the prime of the company did agree with me on the problem however there may be a loud activist group at Disney they usually weren’t proud of me. I can say all that and inform this half of the story and nonetheless inform you, Sage, it is one of the best issues that ever occurred to me.”
Ponder was succeeded on ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ by veteran ESPN personality Mike Greenberg. When she departed, she was reportedly earning $1 million.
“I knew once I despatched that it wasn’t going to go over nicely. But like, to me, that is abuse,” Ponder continued. “You have a male in a boxing ring with a feminine, actually beating her, and we’re simply supposed to love, ‘yay’ within the identify of inclusion. Like, no. What about her?.
“So, I sent [the post],” she added. “And the next week, got a text that said, ‘Can you jump on a call with this person and this person in like an hour.’
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“And one of the bosses is somebody I by no means hear from, and I was like, ‘This is it.’ But I do wish to say, to be sure, I don’t consider, nor have I ever believed that I was solely fired for this.”
Khelif’s Olympic conquer Italian boxer Angela Carini sparked widespread online misinformation pushed by opportunistic right-wing political figures.
Ponder launched her ESPN journey at Longhorn Network in 2011, coinciding with when she started courting future NFL quarterback Christian Ponder. She subsequently labored as a presenter and analyst on ‘College Gameday’ from 2012 to 2016.
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