According to Riley Gaines, there are no coincidences.
The former Kentucky swimmer and current Outkick podcast host endorsed Sam Ponder after ESPN parted ways with the “Sunday NFL Countdown” host on Thursday.
“ESPN fired Sam Ponder, the only woman at the network who had publicly said men didn’t belong in women’s sports, three weeks before football season,” Gaines said. Post to X“Sam, along with Sage Steele, who shared a similar fate, are one of the most beautiful and genuine women I’ve ever met. It’s no coincidence.”
Ponder, along with NFL analyst Robert Griffin III, were reportedly let go with two years remaining on their five-year contracts for budgetary reasons.
Steele, a former “SportsCenter” host, left ESPN in 2023 following a legal settlement with Worldwide Leader after being taken off the air in October 2021 for comments about the company’s COVID vaccination mandate.
Steele and Ponder were among the few at ESPN to publicly support Gaines, who has spoken out against biological males competing in women’s sports since losing to transgender swimmer Leah Thomas in an NCAA event.
Steele also voiced his support for Ponder on Friday and expressed his hopes for the former “NFL Countdown” host’s future.
“Another loss for ESPN, but a gain for literally the whole world, as you are about to see the real Sam Ponder,” Steele said in a video shared on social media. “All will be revealed. I hope you’re prepared. She’s a gem.”
Ponder received support from an unexpected source after news of his layoff broke.
“There are no bottles for Sam Ponder, can you believe that?” Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who famously feuded with Ponder in 2018, said Thursday. “Look, I was the first one to attack Sam Ponder. Are you kidding me? Yes. Do I think she and ESPN overreacted? I know they did. But I’m fair. And I said this about Ponder, bury the hatchet, bury the hatchet. She doesn’t have any bottles of champagne.”
The sports media giant has had several key figures speak out about transgender athletes in recent weeks, including NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, who posted to X “Protect our daughters” during the Imane Khelif Olympic boxing controversy, then later deleted it.
College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit appeared on Outkick’s “Don’t At Me! With Dan Dakich” on Tuesday and said it’s time to “keep quiet” about the issue.
“It’s almost like there’s two different rules,” Herbstreit said, “and if you’re a little more traditionally minded — I’m a Christian — there’s a different set of rules for that mindset, and it seems like it’s hard to just turn the other cheek over and over again. I couldn’t care less.”
Ponder has yet to publicly speak about the matter to ESPN, but it appears she already has many supporters on her side.
