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Former ESPN star Samantha Ponder has opened up on her daughter's struggles facing transgender athletes in middle school sports tournaments. Ponder, 39, who was surprisingly fired by ESPN just two years into her three-year, $3million contract back in August 2024, launched into a furious online rant at the weekend about the 'insanity and darkness' taking over the nation's 'greatest city.' She took to social media on Sunday to claim that her middle school daughter has competed against a 'naturally born boy' in all-girl tournaments on multiple occasions. '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,' she wrote on X. 'The parents cheer while the boy is physical and dominant against the girls. The all girls team loses. '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. 'To everyone saying “just move!” I understand the sentiment but IMHO NYC is the greatest American city that has lost its way. I want to fight for truth and love. I don’t want to give in to insanity and darkness. This is still America.' Ponder shares three children - two girls and a boy - with her husband, ex-quarterback Christian Ponder, whom they raise in New York City. The former sports reporter has previously spoken out on the topic of transgender athletes in women's sports, sparking controversy during last year's Olympics. She was fired by ESPN in August 2024 with her dismissal attributed to cost-cutting measures at the time. However, the Sunday NFL Countdown host's exit came just weeks after she spoke out against boxer Imane Khelif - who won a women's boxing gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris despite claims she is a biological male. After sharing quotes from one of Khelif's opponents on why she quit midway through their bout, she wrote on X: 'ENOUGH is what all of us should be saying!! Proud of this woman'. During an appearance on fellow ex-ESPN star Sage Steele's podcast in July, Ponder said she was instantly worried about potential repercussions from network bosses. 'I knew when I sent that it wasn't going to go over well,' she told Steele. 'But to me that's abuse. You have a male in a boxing ring with a female, literally beating her. And we're just supposed to like [clap gesture] "Yay" in the name of inclusion?' Ponder, who spent 14 years with ESPN before her firing, had also made her feelings on trans athletes in women's sports clear on multiple occasions in the past. Back in June 2023, she retweeted a video post of former UPenn swimmer Paula Scanlan recalling her time as a teammate of trans athlete Lia Thomas and commented: 'No matter where you stand on this issue, it is well worth your time to listen to @PaulaYScanlan share her own story as someone who actually lived this while a female athlete at UPenn.' Two months earlier the then-ESPN personality also claimed on X that allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sports 'takes away so many opportunities for biological women and girls in sports.' And while she also puts her firing down to an infrequent work schedule, Ponder believes it is no coincidence that it came shortly after her latest trans protest regarding Khelif. 'I don’t really think me losing my job was solely because of that, but the timing of it almost certainly was,' she explained to Steele. '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 [ESPN owners] 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.' The Daily Mail reached out to ESPN for comment at the time but did not receive a response.
