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Ponder, a well-known college football and NFL host who lives in Manhattan, said it was “maddening” to have to watch the clearly “dominant” trans player go up against a group of girls, the New York Post reports. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. “It’s happened many times now living in NYC … yet another basketball game today where my middle school daughter is guarding an obviously naturally born boy in a girls tournament. The parents cheer while the boy is physical and dominant against the girls. The all girls team loses,” she tweeted Sunday. “We’ve taught our kids to never make fun of the kid … to always be kind and loving. That the parents are the problem. “That no kid is born in the wrong body. But if I’m honest, watching my daughter get posted up by a boy whose parents have deceived him in this way is maddening.” Ponder, who has been vocal about the issue of transgender athletes in sports, shares two daughters, 11 and 7, and one son, 8, with her husband, former Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder. The Big Apple resident said in another tweet despite the city’s lax rules allowing young athletes to compete in line with their gender identity, moving to a red state isn’t an option for her family. “To everyone saying ‘just move!’ I understand the sentiment but [in my humble opinion] NYC is the greatest American city that has lost its way,” Ponder said. “I want to fight for truth and love. I don’t want to give in to insanity and darkness. This is still America.” In later tweets, Ponder stressed that her frustration didn’t lie with the opposing player — but their parents. “This poor child has been emotionally and mentally abused into thinking there was something wrong with his body. He is the victim not the bully,” she said when someone suggested the player needs to be bullied on the court. When another X user asked if “is there any proof to this,” Ponder replied, “I don’t need you to believe me. I’m living it. As a wise friend once told me ‘a tall man feels no need to prove his height.’” Ponder fired back after another user said she’s “trying to keep [her] grift alive” by sharing her post. “What’s the grift? what is my motivation?” Ponder said. “I can promise you I am not being paid for this honesty but I have lost millions for it.” Ponder did not return messages seeking comment. The TV personality didn’t divulge her daughter’s team name or league. In June, she shared with her 658,000 Instagram followers that she and her hubby were homeschooling their trio of kids, using the “Classical Christian model but focusing heavily on learning through experience.” “ChatGPT has actually been an incredible resource for planning and executing education in ways I never could have done on my own,” she wrote. “The city is our classroom! It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, of course, but I’m confident we will never regret this time learning and growing together.” Ponder started at the Worldwide Leader in Sports in 2011 but was ousted in 2024. She served as host of “Sunday NFL Countdown” starting in 2017 and before that contributed to and hosted “College Gameday,” and worked as an in-game sideline reporter in 2016. While ESPN leaders downplayed the loss of Ponder as a budgetary move, she speculated part of the reason she was let go involved her conservative views on trans athletes. This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.
