NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Former ESPN employee Sam Ponder witnesses one of her strongest oppositions come to life before her very eyes.
Ponder said last month that it is “ridiculous” to have transgender athletes compete against biological women and girls in sports.
On Monday, Ponder took to social media and explained that her middle school daughter was “guarding an obviously natural born boy at a girls (basketball) tournament.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
ESPN sideline reporter Sam Ponder during the first quarter between the Florida State Seminoles and the Mississippi Rebels at Camping World Stadium. (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)
“Has happened many times now living in NYC…Parents cheer while boy is physical and dominant against girls. All-girls team loses,” Ponder wrote on X.
“We’ve taught our children to never make fun of the child… to always be kind and loving. That the parents are the problem. That no child is born in the wrong body. But to be honest, it’s terrifying to see my daughter sent away by a boy whose parents have deceived him like this.”
Neither the city of New York nor the state have regulations regarding trans athletes, but there is currently a legal battle in Long Island’s Nassau County.
Responding to several X users, Ponder said that the “boy” in question was not to blame, but rather the parents.
Then-ESPN reporter Samantha Ponder was on hand during the first half of the 2013 BCS Championship game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Sun Life Stadium on January 7, 2013. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
TRANS ATHLETE RESEARCHER REJECTS PROPOSAL FOR OPEN CATEGORY AT CONFERENCE, SAYS MOST WOULD ‘QUIT SPORTS’
Ponder appeared on Pakinomist Channel’s “Saturday in America” with Kayleigh McEnany last month and spoke about her decision to speak out against transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The topic has been hotly debated in recent years, with Lia Thomas winning an NCAA title in 2022, and now the Trump administration is requiring American schools to comply with Title IX.
“There’s no way in this country, especially in sports, you shouldn’t be able to say on your social media accounts, ‘I don’t think men should be in women’s sports.’ It’s something – I talk to athletes all the time, 99.9% of professional athletes that we know it’s ridiculous,” she said.
“And the fact that we haven’t been able to say that boldly — but with kindness and some humility — is crazy. It’s crazy we’ve gotten to this point in sports that we just can’t be honest about what’s true and not be a jerk about it, but to say, ‘Yeah, you’re not putting a male in my daughter’s locker room.'”
Samantha Ponder (yellow hat) watches her husband, then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (not pictured) at training camp at Blakeslee Fields on July 27, 2013. (Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports)
Transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports continue to be a big issue in 2025. In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring men from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Since then, several states have thumbed their noses at the order.
