Overview

• Ponder spoke publicly for the first time about her ouster and confirmed her transgender sports commentary was a central factor in ESPN’s decision last August.
• She described receiving a private warning email after sharing Paula Scanlan’s video on competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
• Ponder acknowledged that her limited Sunday NFL Countdown schedule and high salary also featured in ESPN’s cost-cutting rationale.
• She said most senior ESPN executives privately agreed with her but felt pressured by a “loud activist group” within Disney.
• ESPN declined to comment on her account, and sources point to both internal activism and budget considerations shaping her firing.