Samantha Ponder said watching her daughter \u201cget posted up by a boy\u201d during a middle school basketball game was \u201cmaddening\u201d to see.<\/p>\n
Expanding on the matter Sunday in a series of tweets, the former host of ESPN\u2019s \u201cSunday NFL Countdown\u201d \u2014 who has been outspoken about her views on transgender athletes \u2014 said her daughter\u2019s team lost the game after playing against \u201cobviously a naturally born boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s happened many times now living in NYC\u2026 yet another basketball game today where my middle school daughter is guarding an obviously naturally born boy in a girls tournament,\u201d Ponder wrote. \u201cThe parents cheer while the boy is physical and dominant against the girls. The all girls team loses.<\/p>\n
Samantha Ponder prepares to go onstage at the espnW Summit held at Resort at Pelican Hill on October 2, 2018 in Newport Beach, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve taught our kids to never make fun of the kid\u2026 to always be kind and loving. That the parents are the problem. That no kid is born in the wrong body. But if I\u2019m honest, watching my daughter get posted up by a boy whose parents have deceived him in this way is maddening.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo everyone saying \u2018just move!\u2019 I understand the sentiment but IMHO [in my humble opinion] NYC is the greatest American city that has lost its way. I want to fight for truth and love. I don\u2019t want to give in to insanity and darkness. This is still America.\u201d <\/p>\n Samantha Ponder and her husband, former Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder, with their three children. Instagram\/Samantha Ponder<\/p>\n Ponder and her husband, former Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder, are parents to son Robinson True, 8, and daughters Bowden \u201cScout\u201d Sainte-Claire, 11, and Price, 7. <\/p>\n When someone on X asked if \u201cis there any proof to this,\u201d Ponder replied<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t need you to believe me. I\u2019m living it. As a wise friend once told me \u2018a tall man feels no need to prove his height.’\u201d<\/p>\n Ponder fired back after another user said she\u2019s \u201ctrying to keep [her] grift alive\u201d by sharing her post.<\/p>\n It\u2019s happened many times now living in NYC\u2026 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.<\/p>\n \u2014 Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) October 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the grift? what is my motivation?\u201d Ponder said<\/a>. \u201cI can promise you I am not being paid for this honesty but I have lost millions for it.\u201d <\/p>\n Ponder and Robert Griffin III were let go by ESPN last summer<\/a> as the network altered its NFL coverage. <\/p>\n Ponder made waves on social media last summer when she weighed in on\u00a0controversial female boxer Imane Khelif<\/a>, who won Olympic gold at the Paris Games.<\/p>\n Sam Ponder previously hosted \u201cSunday NFL Countdown.\u201d Chris Pizzello\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n \u201cENOUGH is what all of us should be saying!! Proud of this woman,\u201d\u00a0Ponder wrote<\/a>, quoting a post about Italian Angela Carini, who\u00a0withdrew from her opening-round bout with Khelif.<\/a><\/p>\n Ponder also expressed support for President Trump after his assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally last July.<\/p>\n Ponder first joined ESPN in 2011, working mostly in the college football space. She contributed to and hosted \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d from 2012-16 and worked as an in-game sideline reporter in 2016.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n She was promoted to \u201cSunday NFL Countdown\u201d in 2017, joining a signature program that airs Sunday mornings prior to 1 p.m. ET kickoffs, with an analyst desk that features Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, Alex Smith and Rex Ryan.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s\u00a0Mike Greenberg<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 who also hosts \u201cNBA Countdown\u201d and the daily morning program \u201cGet Up\u201d \u2014 replaced Ponder as the host of \u201cSunday NFL Countdown.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n