Sam Ponder, an ESPN announcer, faced criticism on Sunday after USA Today's Nancy Armour wrote an opinion piece on her support for maintaining the fairness and equality of women's sports.
The appeals for transgender athletes to compete in sports against the gender they were born as,
rather than the gender they identify with, have been spearheaded by Riley Gaines, who has gained the support of Ponder and fellow ESPN colleague Sage Steele.
Since she and Lia Thomas tied for first place in the NCAA Championship in 2022, Gaines has been in the spotlight.
After Gaines tweeted the texts she received about transgender high school runners competing in the females category in California, Ponder recently brought up the subject once more.
"I hardly mentioned anything publicly about this subject, but already I've received so many messages from people thanking me, stopping me on the street,
and hearing about how ladies are frightened to speak out for fear of losing their jobs or being called cruel. Demanding equality in sports for girls is not hateful, Ponder tweeted.