Will Sam Ponder Be Only ESPN Colleague To Defend Sage Steele Against Megan Rapinoe?

Megan Rapinoe says ESPN host Sage Steele and comedian Dave Chappelle are to blame for violence against trans people.

“I don’t want to mince words about it. Dave Chappelle making jokes about trans people directly leads to violence, whether it’s verbal or otherwise, against trans people. When Martina or Sage or whoever are talking about this, people aren’t hearing it just in the context of elite sports. They’re saying, ‘The rest of my life, this is how I’m going to treat trans people,'” Rapinoe told TIME.

Steele's colleague Sam Ponder responded to Rapinoe's criticism, defending Steele:

Steele added the following:

Sage Steele Has An Ally In Sam Ponder

What Ponder says is correct. Steele has only tweeted that males should not compete against females in athletic competitions.

Steele says men and women are different. Saying so is not an inciting violence, but a citing of reality. Males and females are different. That is why until lately, society separated them in terms of sports.

And most of the country agrees with Sage Steele.

A recent Gallup poll revealed that 69 percent of Americans believe transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth gender.

Parents of both political affiliations understand females should not compete physically against males.

And yet in the media, Steele is the minority -- creating a distorted view of the public opinion.

We explained why in a recent column called It's Safe To Come Out Of The Closest Against Gender Ideology:

SAGE STEELE’S LAWSUIT AGAINST ESPN, DISNEY IS WORTH MORE THAN MONEY | BOBBY BURACK

For those reasons, Ponder will likely be the only ESPN colleague to stand for Steele publicly.

More likely, the likes of Sarah Spain and Mark Jones will share tweets agreeing with Rapinoe's attack on their colleague. They have before.

Moreover, don't expect head of ESPN PR Chris LaPlaca to issue a statement defending Steele the way he did for Mina Kimes when some random radio host called her a "nip," over which she pretended to be offended.

Those at ESPN who agree with Steele, other than Ponder, will simply nod along privately out of fear.

Steele and Ponder are the only voices at ESPN willing to take the fight to save women's sports head-on. It's courageous.

The two women are far stronger than any of the former football players the network employees. Compare them to Domonique Foxworth, a frightened man who lives to impress strangers on Twitter.

By the way, Rapinoe also includes Chappelle in her criticism. She refers to his special The Closer in which he derides the trans community (along with the straight, white, and black communities.) The special is hilarious. We encourage you to watch it.

#MakeWomenFemaleAgain,