ESPN is embroiled in controversy after naming transgender athlete Lia Thomas as a women's athlete of the year, leading to a critical conversation between Riley Gaines and Sage Steele on the 'Gaines for Girls Podcast'. Steele alleges that ESPN instructed her and Sam Ponder to refrain from commenting on Thomas to avoid offending other ESPN employees. Despite this directive, Steele continued to voice her concerns, an act praised by some as 'incredible bravery'. ESPN has remained silent, offering 'no comment' on Steele's claim of censorship. The incident has highlighted the contentious issue of transgender individuals in women's sports, with high-profile figures like Caitlyn Jenner advocating for the protection of women's sports.
ESPN is refusing to comment to any media outlet on whether they told employees to stay quiet about whether men should be able to pretend to be women and win women’s championships. https://t.co/gzPiVomXpX
NEW: ESPN tells OutKick they have 'no comment' on ex-employee Sage Steele's claim that the company censored her for supporting Riley Gaines. ESPN is accused of forcing its politics on employees, including supporting trans athletes like LIa Thomas. READ: https://t.co/bbe9UChQVb https://t.co/hgxY3fGJ56
ESPN is no more of a reputable outlet than Thomas is a woman. Men don't belong in women's sports. #SaveWomensSports https://t.co/juchYU4nnf
So @espn told @sagesteele & @samponder not to comment on Lia Thomas, a man pretending to be a woman in women’s sports, because some other ESPN employees were offended by their opinions?! This is a flat out unacceptable position for any sports media company to have. Light them up.
Great convo between @Riley_Gaines_& @sagesteele on @espn naming Lia Thomas, a man pretending to be a woman, as a women’s athlete of the year: https://t.co/fu4Auik5lx
Sage Steele: ESPN told me to stop tweeting about trans swimmer Lia Thomas https://t.co/kFsv9wtloE https://t.co/gYaD2KU9U8
Riley Gaines and Sage Steele go off on ESPN for choosing a man for a special on women’s sports! @Riley_Gaines_ @sagesteele https://t.co/YfajMqaIke
ESPN's overt politics forced Sage Steele to make a stand for women's sports. https://t.co/IvPc9RjArm
The latest episode of the Gaines for Girls Podcast... Riley interviews @sagesteele TIMESTAMPS 02:04 Sage's Experience at ESPN 06:35 The Impact of Cancel Culture on ESPN 15:12 The Support from Women at ESPN 16:42 The disappointment with ESPN's coverage of Lia Thomas 18:33 Being… https://t.co/AFG66zglop
Sage Steele says ESPN told her to stop talking about Lia Thomas - a man destroying women in the pool - but she refused to comply. Incredible bravery from @SageSteele. https://t.co/wh9CyHESrd
https://t.co/2MRsYqLxqs For my next episode on the Courage Series, I had the honor of sitting down with Jamie Reed (@JamieWhistle) to discuss her experience blowing the Whistle on The Washington University Transgender Center.
‘Joe Biden is literally trying to ruin women’s sports.’ @Caitlyn_Jenner details her work to protect women’s sports. https://t.co/A7X9ekEr7U