"That just did something to me"- Amid Riley Gaines public fight against Lia Thomas, former reporter reveals aftermath of Women's history month feature

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Amidst Riley Gaines' vocal disapproval of former swimmer Lia Thomas, sports journalist Samantha Steele Ponder revealed the aftermath of the Women's History Month feature. The journalist had been fired from ESPN last year over her alleged support for the swimmer-turned-social activist.

Almost a year later, the journalist finally opened up on what actually happened. In a conversation with YouTuber Sage Steele on the 'Sage Steele Show,' Ponder revealed why she protested against the inclusion of Lia Thomas in the Women's History Month by ESPN. In her words,

"That was sort of the start of all of it. It was in 2023; they [ESPN] did a feature on Lia Thomas for Women's History Month, and that just did something to me. Like it, I don't know why; it's like kind of emotional to me. But like, man, there's so many incredible women that have dealt with all the struggles that come that are unique to womanhood, and for the company to say, 'We are basically going to take that spot. We're going to give it to someone who, by their own admission, has only 'become a woman' within the last year. Yes, I mean it was Will Thomas on the team the year before."

In May 2023, Samantha Ponder shared Riley Gaines' post on her X account [previously Twitter] in her support as she maintained that it wasn't unfair to demand fairness in sports for girls. However, she received backlash for those comments, with some even calling her a 'transphobe.'


When Riley Gaines applauded Sage Steele for speaking about Lia Thomas

 Getty]When Riley Gaines backed Sage Steele [Image Source : Getty]

Riley Gaines had previously supported Samantha Ponder and Sage Steele for their stance against Lia Thomas. Steele had previously served ESPN as a sports commentator until she was removed in 2021 for her alleged comments against the previous administration.

In Gaines' podcast for the Outkick channel titled Gaines for Girls, Steele appeared last year in March 2024, where she revealed that despite being a former employee of ESPN, she was forbidden to speak against Lia Thomas, just like Samantha Ponder.

“I was asked to stop tweeting about it. I was asked to stop doing anything, or saying anything about it on social media because I was offending others at the company. I made sure I sent up another tweet that night after I received that email because like, no," Sage said.

The journalist further added,

"And it’s, let’s stop living in this lie. And once again, oh, you’re going to you’re to silence me and Sam. She was told the same thing, for this issue, but they were going to let everybody else talk about all these other things that are not even related to sports on our sports programming."

Riley Gaines had spoken against the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports since 2022.

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About the author

Animesh Pandey

Animesh Pandey is a seasoned content writer at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience, having previously worked as an intern for Follow Your Sport before joining SK as a columnist in 2017. A graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, he also worked at TFI Media Private Limited and contributed as an intern for the movie website Nettv4u.

He has extensively covered events from World Championships to the Olympics, providing insights and analyses that resonate with his audience. His belief in mastering the basics and delivering accurate, relevant, and ethical information through thorough research is reflected in his work.

He was notably invited to the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after winning a MyGov quiz on Indian Sports, where he engaged with celebrated athletes such as Rahi Sarnobat, Hima Das, Jinson Johnson, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who also happens to be his favorite Olympian.

Despite being a field hockey enthusiast, Animesh's most cherished Olympic moments include Wayde Van Niekerk's unexpected world record in the 400 meters at Rio and Chopra's historic gold medal in Tokyo.

When not immersed in writing or watching the Olympics, Animesh indulges in his love for movies, embracing quality cinema regardless of the language.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua

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