Sports columnist calls ESPN’s Sam Ponder support for fairness in women’s sports ‘plain old bigotry

On Sunday, ESPN commentator Sam Ponder came under fire following the publication of an opinion essay written by Nancy Armour of USA Today. The column focused on Ponder’s advocacy for maintaining fair and equal conditions in women’s sports.

Both Ponder and Sage Steele, another coworker at ESPN, have shown their support for Riley Gaines, who has taken the initiative to lead the demands for transgender athletes to compete in sports against the gender they were born as rather than the gender they identify as. Both of these individuals have spoken out in favour of Riley Gaines.

Since she finished tied for first with Lia Thomas in the NCAA Championship in 2022, Gaines has remained at the forefront of the competition. Ponder has recently addressed the matter once more after Gaines tweeted the messages she received concerning transgender high school runners competing in the girls division in the state of California.