ESPN's Sam Ponder Responds: 'Biology Is Not Bigotry'

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Over the weekend, USA Today columnist Nancy Armour penned a very negative article about ESPN host Sam Ponder. In it, Armour labeled Ponder's call for "fairness in sports" -- i.e. not allowing biological men to compete in women's sports -- "plain old bigotry."

Not only did Armour's ridiculous column ruthlessly attack Ponder for her opinion -- an opinion that matches the majority of Americans, by the way -- but Ponder's colleague, ESPN's Sarah Spain, shared Armour's article.

Ponder had been relatively quiet on social media since her tweet that set Armour off. Here's what Ponder tweeted on May 25:

"I barely said anything publicly this issue & I’ve had so many me, stop me in the street to say thank you tell me stories girls who are afraid to speak up for fear of lost employment/being called hateful. It is not hateful to demand fairness in sports for girls."

Sam Ponder of ESPN prepares to go onstage at the espnW Summit, supporting women in sports.

Sam Ponder of ESPN prepares to go onstage at the espnW Summit, supporting women in sports. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Armour used that tweet to launch her attack article. Ponder had sent just one tweet since that one, an unrelated reply to a tweet about ESPN co-worker Randy Moss.

But on Wednesday, Ponder finally responded.

"Biology is not bigotry," Ponder tweeted. "Loving people does not require the absence of boundaries."

Rather than attack Armour or Spain for their labeling of her as a "bigot," Ponder sent out a simple message.

ESPN's Sam Ponder fires back at people calling her a "bigot" with a strong message

Her point, by the way, is correct.

This idea that if you don't want biological men competing in women's sports then you're "transphobic" or "anti-trans" (I can't keep up with which is the proper terminology this week) is insane.

I love my cats. I don't let them in my bedroom because I don't want cat hair in my bed or them getting into certain things.

That's me setting a boundary. It doesn't make me "anti-cat" or "cat-phobic."

No one is demanding that trans people not be allowed to participate in sports or society. People just want boundaries to keep everything fair.

And that's perfectly reasonable.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.