ESPN’s dedication to woke rhetoric is driving a wedge between the network’s on-air personalities and the executives who demanded certain talking points be included in daily sports segments. Charly Arnolt, who moved from ESPN to Outckick, shredded the Disney-owned network for its constant praise of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Varney & Co,” Arnolt admonished the network for the constant tribute that it pays to Lia Thomas, and how she believes that ESPN is degrading women’s sports. She said:
“The whole issue is that ESPN always makes such a big deal about keeping politics out of programming. And then yet during Women’s Month, they found it appropriate to air a one-minute-long tribute about biological male swimmer Lia Thomas, which I just found to be very hypocritical.”
“And as a woman, quite frankly, a huge slap in the face that during Women’s Month, when there are so many incredible female athletes to be celebrated, they turn to the most controversial figure in sports right now, Lia Thomas — a man — to be celebrated.”
Arnolt said that during her time at the network, she felt uncomfortable speaking her mind about the opinions that mattered the most to her if they went against the ESPN narrative:
“There’s a lot of issues that I felt like I needed and wanted to speak up on in my opinion. I wasn’t in a place where it was allowed, where I was comfortable even speaking out even if it were to be allowed because it didn’t fit within the narrative of that of ESPN.”
Here's the full clip of this photo for context:
Yes, it is disappointing seeing Charly Arnolt (@CharlyOnTV) flip politically and champion a lot of myths about transgender athletes.
But oh well. I'll just disagree and keep it moving. It's not my life.pic.twitter.com/TsWpJYdUdB https://t.co/DAHpReOboe
— Just Alyx (@JustAlyxCentral) April 21, 2023
Finally, Arnolt voices her real opinion on the issue that Lia Thomas and others brought to the forefront of the American cultural debate, whether biological men should be allowed to compete in women’s divisions in sporting events. Arnolt said:
“There was actually a comment made yesterday by Lia Thomas saying that it is transphobic of women who speak out against this when really women have no obligation to support Lia Thomas or other trans athletes because, like I said before, it is a slap in the face as a woman.”
“Quite frankly, I think we need to stop giving such power to these slurs coming from the left, like the word ‘transphobic,’ because really, if standing up for women means that I’m transphobic, then you can call me transphobic all day long.”
Arnolt is not alone in this sentiment as ESPN’s Sam Ponder spoke about a similar need to protect women’s sports, with Fox News writing:
Ponder, a focal point of ESPN’s NFL coverage, tweeted that the Biden administration’s plan to change Title IX would “take away so many opportunities for biological women and girls” in sports across the nation.
“It is a shame that we are needing to fight for the integrity of Title IX in 2023 and the reason it was needed in the first place,” Ponder wrote.
As prominent figures in the sports world, especially women, speak out against the constant woke rhetoric at ESPN, the company has a serious problem on its hands. ESPN will have to decide whether it will continue to pander to the left and risk losing its top female talent or allow its commentators to speak their minds and risk ire from its woke fanbase.
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Tweet.
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