ESPN fired two on-air personalities Thursday: soccer analyst Robert Griffin III and “Sunday NFL Countdown” host Sam Ponder. If the latter title sounds acquainted to Florida State soccer followers, that is as a result of the broadcaster is married to former FSU quarterback Christian Ponder.

In response to The Athletic, Ponder and Griffin have been let go as a part of price range cuts. The 2 had restricted roles at ESPN: RG3 was not too long ago taken off “Monday Evening Countdown” in favor of Jason Kelce, whereas Ponder’s solely position on the community was hosted the weekly NFL preview present.

Nevertheless, each additionally have been identified for stirring the pot on social media. Griffin acquired right into a perceived spat with fellow ESPN character Paul Finebaum on Wednesday over FSU soccer and its snub from final season’s Faculty Soccer Playoff.

Ponder got here underneath fireplace a number of instances for posting about trans girls in sports activities, and most not too long ago disparaged gold-medal boxer Imane Khelif on the 2024 Olympics. She additionally publicly criticized ESPN for permitting a Barstool-branded present onto its airwaves due to the corporate and founder Dave Portnoy’s historical past of misogyny and sexism.

Who’s Sam Ponder?

Samantha Ponder (neé Steele) was born December 11, 1985 in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2009, she graduated from Liberty College, the non-public Christian school co-founded by evangelist Jerry Falwell. She has spent her whole profession in sports activities broadcasting, beginning in school soccer and basketball with Fox Sports activities as a radio character, sideline reporter and TV host.

Ponder jumped to ESPN in 2011, the place she would proceed as school soccer and basketball sideline reporter and a studio host for the Longhorn Community. She contributed to “Faculty GameDay” from 2012 to 2016 and was the Saturday evening primetime sideline reporter in 2016.

In 2017, Ponder took over as host of the two-hour “Sunday NFL Countdown” present, taking on for longtime host Chris Berman. She additionally continued doing options and interviews for the community, in response to ESPN.

Who’s Sam Ponder’s husband? Christian Ponder, former FSU soccer quarterback

Samantha Steele married Christian Ponder on December 17, 2012. The 2 had solely been courting just a few months earlier than tying the knot in Wisconsin.

Christian Ponder performed quarterback at Florida State from 2007 to 2010. He threw for six,872 yards and 49 touchdowns with 30 interceptions in 4 seasons with the Seminoles.

He was drafted twelfth total by the Minnesota Vikings within the 2011 NFL Draft. His profession was derailed by accidents and inconsistent play, going 14-21-1 over 4 seasons with a completion price underneath 60%. He threw for six,658 yards with 38 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. He signed with the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers after the Vikings let him stroll, however he by no means took one other snap within the NFL after the 2014 season.

Christian Ponder joined with Below Armour North America president Jason LaRose in 2023 to begin The Publish, a enterprise networking group for former athletes.

Why did ESPN fireplace Sam Ponder?

In response to The Athletic, Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III have been fired due to price range cuts. They have been the one two identified individuals being let go, versus June 2023, when ESPN laid off about 20 on-air personalities and reporters, together with South Florida native Suzy Kolber, NBA recreation analysts Jeff van Gundy and Mark Jackson, NFL Draft skilled Todd McShay and school soccer analyst David Pollack.

Ponder and Griffin had restricted roles on the community coupled with massive salaries, which made them straightforward targets for layoffs, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand stated. The report stated each made seven figures, which ESPN lately has reserved for mega-stars like Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, whose solely obligation on the community is commentating Monday Evening Soccer.

How a lot does Sam Ponder make?

In response to The Athletic, Ponder was coming into the ultimate 12 months on a three-year contract value $3 million.

What did Sam Ponder say about Olympics boxer Imane Khelif?

Each Ponder and Griffin are identified for inflicting controversy on social media. Ponder usually speaks out for ladies in sports activities, however she has come underneath fireplace for repeatedly going after transgender individuals competing in girls’s sports activities.

She not too long ago acquired into sizzling water over posts about Imane Khelif, a boxer from Algeria competing within the 2024 Olympics. After Italy’s Angela Carini pulled out of her match after taking one punch from Khelif, many individuals got here out with false claims that Khelif was male or trans. Khelif was born feminine, and being transgender in Algeria is prohibited, however that did not cease individuals from claiming that she was ruining girls’s sports activities.

Ponder was amongst these voices, posting on August 1 that “ENOUGH is what all of us needs to be saying” about Khelif competing within the Olympics:

Khelif went on to win the gold medal, and after the Olympics, she introduced she can be submitting fees over “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” dedicated towards her. Her legal professional stated “Harry Potter” writer J.Ok. Rowling and Twitter proprietor Elon Musk have been named within the grievance.

Ponder has come out towards trans girls competing in girls’s sports activities earlier than. In 2023, she shared a social media put up from anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, saying it was finished to “demand fairness in sports for girls.” Earlier that 12 months, she replied “Yes, thank you,” to a clip of Megyn Kelly saying “You may’t simply turn into (a lady) and take all of our issues.”

A minimum of 23 states, together with Florida, have handed laws lately limiting trans athletes’ capacity to take part in girls’s sports activities. This regardless of the rarity of trans athletes: Kentucky handed a ban regardless that just one individual in all the state can be affected by it.

What does Barstool, founder Dave Portnoy must do with Sam Ponder?

In 2017, ESPN aired the lone episode “Barstool Van Speak” a present with stars of off-brand sports activities media firm Barstool Sports activities. In response to the present, Ponder shared snippets of a few of the tales the positioning had written about her previously with the sarcastic: “Welcome to the ESPN household @BarstoolBigCat (& welcome to all ur minions who will reply to this so kindly).” Dan Katz (aka “Huge Cat”) replied that he did not write that put up, to which Ponder responded, “Ought to I save the ‘rundown’ the place you known as me a slut for later or use that one now?”

Barstool has a popularity for misogyny and sexualizing girls in sports activities over its historical past. The corporate’s followers even have a behavior of attacking individuals on-line who’ve badmouthed it or its founder, Dave Portnoy.

“Barstool Van Speak” was pulled after one episode. Ponder has stated she had nothing to do with the present’s cancelation, although Portnoy had blamed her for it.

After the information of Ponder’s firing, Portnoy posted a video to social media saying he held no grudge towards her.

“I took the primary shot at Sam Ponder,” Portnoy stated within the video. “Was it joking? Yeah. Do I believe she and ESPN overreacted? I do know so. However I’m honest.”