USA Today Columnist Torches ESPN’s Sam Ponder for Opposing Trans Women in Sports: ‘Plain Old Bigotry’

Aaron M. Sprecher/AP

A USA Today columnist has called out ESPN’s Sam Ponder for her views on trans women in sports, claiming Ponder’s “quest for fairness” is a “sham.”

In her column, Nancy Armour also said the movement to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports was about “hate, fear and ignorance.”

“Don’t be fooled by the people who screech about ‘fairness’ to cloak their bigotry toward transgender girls and women,” Armour said, “the transgender girls and women who have the audacity to want to play sports, in particular.

“This is, and always was, about hate, fear and ignorance.”

Armour took aim at Ponder because she’s been more outspoken about her views on the trans community of late. According to Armour, the ESPN anchor has chosen to target that community instead of focusing on more pressing matters like inequitable funding for women’s sports.

“Did Ponder use her platform to express outrage at any of this?” Armour continued. “Urge her nearly half-million followers on Twitter to write or call their representatives and ask that women be given the funding and opportunities they rightfully deserve? Did she publicly participate in any of the many excellent documentaries, videos and commentary ESPN did to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Title IX last year? Or even Tweet about them?

“No, she did not. Her public concern about ‘fairness’ for female athletes starts and stops with the miniscule number of transgender women who are participating in sports.”

Armour also attempted to dispel the narrative that men are simply choosing to come out as transgender to win competitions against women, citing the recent story about a pair of high school athletes qualifying for a track and field state championship in California.

“Neither of the girls won her sectional,” Armour said, “and the faster of the two was nearly seven seconds behind the top qualifier.”

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