A former ESPN star has left the woke network behind for a new gig on Fox News.
Samantha Ponder is returning to the media spotlight with an appearance on a new Fox News Media podcast, more than two years after her high-profile departure from the sports network.
Ponder, the former host of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown,” will be featured on the premiere episode of “the Girls,” a new all-female roundtable podcast launching Thursday, Oct. 1.
Fox News announced the new program Monday as part of a broader expansion of its digital and podcast operations.
The premiere will bring Ponder together with “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, “The Faulkner Focus” anchor Harris Faulkner, “Gutfeld!” panelist Kat Timpf and newly named Fox News contributor Melissa DeRosa.
DeRosa is a Democratic strategist who previously served as secretary to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, becoming the first woman to hold that position.
The combination gives the inaugural episode a lineup drawn from sports, news, politics, comedy and government.
Fox said “the Girls” will not use a permanent panel.
Instead, different women from Fox News Media and outside the company will rotate through the program each week, with conversations ranging from politics and pop culture to careers, parenting, relationships, marriage and money.
The company described the program as an unscripted, free-flowing alternative to a traditional television news roundtable.
“We’re excited to deliver a no-holds-barred format that captures the authenticity and perspectives of the many dynamic women of FOX News Media and beyond,” Megan Albano, Fox News executive vice president of morning programming and program development, said in announcing the show.
Fox News Digital and New Media President Porter Berry called the program a “natural addition” to the company’s growing podcast business.
New episodes will be released every Thursday through Fox News Digital, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.
FOX News Podcasts will bring together unique female voices and experiences across news, politics, sports, comedy and culture for a new original podcast, “the Girls,” New Media President Porter Berry and EVP Megan Albano announced on Monday.
“the Girls” will debut on Thursday,… pic.twitter.com/JN2R4uJL6t
— Fox News Flash (@FoxNews_Flash) September 28, 2026
For Ponder, the premiere represents one of her most prominent media appearances since ESPN ended its relationship with her in August 2024.
Ponder had spent nearly 13 years with ESPN and had become one of the network’s most recognizable football personalities.
She joined ESPN through the Longhorn Network in 2011 before becoming a college football reporter and eventually appearing on “College GameDay.”
Ponder took over as host of “Sunday NFL Countdown” in 2017, succeeding longtime host Chris Berman.
She remained in that position until ESPN laid her off alongside former NFL quarterback and analyst Robert Griffin III in August 2024.
ESPN’s decision generated considerable attention at the time because Ponder still had time remaining on her contract and had become increasingly outspoken on several cultural issues.
People familiar with ESPN’s decision claimed the move was financially motivated as the company sought additional cost reductions.
Ponder’s departure was therefore widely reported as a layoff rather than a disciplinary action. ESPN replaced her on “Sunday NFL Countdown” with longtime network personality Mike Greenberg.
The move nevertheless became politically contentious because Ponder had publicly entered the debate opposing biological males competing in women’s sports.
Ponder argued that women’s athletic categories should be protected on the basis of biological sex and had voiced support for former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, one of the country’s most prominent advocates for restrictions on transgender participation in women’s sports.
After Ponder was dismissed, Gaines and former ESPN personalities including Sage Steele publicly questioned whether her views played a role.
Former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya, who is running at the GOP nominee in Minnesota for a U.S. Senate seat in November, similarly said she was skeptical that budget considerations fully explained ESPN’s decision.
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