ESPN fires NFL coverage stars Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III

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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/570...obert-griffin/

Ponder, who has hosted Sunday NFL Countdown since 2017, and Griffin, who was already demoted from his Monday Night Countdown analyst role, have been abruptly dropped by the network. "Ponder only worked in the prestigious role of host NFL Countdown, but was, for the most part, off for the rest of the year. ESPN generally reserves these types of schedules for the Joe Bucks, Troy Aikmans and Peyton Mannings of its world," says The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, adding: "Griffin, who as recently as last year had been viewed as a rising star at ESPN, had two years remaining on his deal. He was hired three years ago after gaining interest from Fox Sports and ESPN. At the time, sources at both networks raved about what they described as one of the best auditions they had ever seen." Some right-wingers have questioned Ponder's firing because she has been known for denouncing trans athletes. Ponder recently weighed in on the Imane Khelif controversy. Last year, USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour accused Ponder of dealing in “bigotry.” ”Don’t be fooled by the people who screech about ‘fairness’ to cloak their bigotry toward transgender girls and women, the transgender girls and women who have the audacity to want to play sports, in particular,” Armour wrote of Ponder. “This is, and always was, about hate, fear and ignorance.”