Latest news with #KateFagan
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
ESPN panelist Kate Fagan says ‘trans kids deserve to play sports' in final appearance before show's cancelation
Former ESPN analyst Kate Fagan returned to Around the Horn on Thursday, appearing on the long-running sports debate show in its final days to advocate for the inclusion of transgender child athletes. After 23 years on air, the final episode of Around the Horn will premiere on May 23, as the network announced the show's cancelation in March. Fagan, who left ESPN in 2018, included a message about supporting trans kids in sports in her conversation with former SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill, who was fired in 2018 over tweets about Trump in his first term. Fagan's remarks come as Trump has taken significant steps in his second term to restrict the participation of transgender women and girls in women's sports. 'Being on this show has been a privilege and a platform, and I know it's my last time on it, and I want to say something worthy of that privilege and platform,' Fagan started on Thursday. 'That is this: trans kids deserve to play sports. Think about what you remember from your time playing sports and 99 percent of it is: finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives.' Fagan continued, 'It's that moment when you have a great play with a teammate, it's the feeling of belonging, and it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve that — the same as everybody else does.' 'This space on Around the Horn has been about diversity and inclusion, lifting up new voices because sports is joy and sports is humanity. And the more people who have that, the better,' she concluded. On February 5, Trump signed Executive Order 14201, titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports.' This order prohibits transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams at all educational levels — elementary, secondary, and post-secondary. It also threatens to revoke federal funding from institutions that allow such participation, citing violations of Title IX. His administration has filed a lawsuit against the state of Maine for resisting the federal push to ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports. Fagan declined a contract extension with ESPN at the end of 2018 and left the network, citing structural challenges in mainstream sports media and a desire to step back from daily sports coverage. Hill faced backlash in September 2017 for calling Trump a 'white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists,' on X, formerly known as Twitter. Hill joked about her firing on Thursday's episode of Around the Horn, while reflecting on her past moments with host Tony Reali and the other panelists. 'I got a little bit nervous when I saw you were pulling up our tweets. Dude, I just came back, man!' she said.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Jemele Hill returns to ESPN's 'Around the Horn' before show's cancellation, jokes about previous firing
ESPN's "Around the Horn" is bringing back some of its old faces before its final show. ESPN announced the show's cancellation in March, and its last show will be on May 23. So, on Thursday's episode, they brought back Jemele Hill, who anchored SportsCenter for a time before she was canned in 2018. Hill was let go from the network due to social media posts about President Donald Trump and his supporters during his first presidency. During the episode, host Tony Reali and the other panelists had a segment where they reacted to old takes from her, and Hill could not help but laugh at herself. "I got a little bit nervous when I saw you were pulling up our tweets. Dude, I just came back, man!" she said. The episode also featured the return of Kate Fagan, who left the network in 2018. Fagan made a plea for "trans kids" in sports. "I know it's my last time on [the show], and I want to say something worthy of that platform, and that's trans kids deserve to play sports," she said. "Think about what you remember from your time playing sports. Ninety-nine percent of it is finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives. "It's that moment when you have a great play with a teammate. It's the feeling of belonging. And it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve the same as everyone else does… Sports is joy. Sports is humanity. And the more people who have that, the better." There is no law or order that bans transgender children from participating in sports. Trump signed an executive order in February that prohibits biological males identifying as girls or women from competing against biological females. Shortly after it was announced the show was ending, former panelist Jay Mariotti, who was a regular on the show until a domestic violence arrest in 2010, said in an interview the show is being canceled because it went "woke." There are now just 11 episodes left of the show, which is over 20 years old. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
ESPN analyst Kate Fagan backs trans athletes during cameo with Donald Trump-hating co-host Jemele Hill
Kate Fagan used her final remarks on iconic ESPN show 'Around the Horn' to push for the inclusion of transgender kids in sports. 'Around the Horn' has been part of the ESPN schedule for two decades but the sports debate show will go off air on May 23. Former ESPN star Fagan was invited back for a farewell appearance, alongside Jemele Hill. Hill was suspended by ESPN before leaving the network in 2018. She has previously caused controversy after branding Donald Trump a 'white supremacist' and claiming white men are the 'worst thing in America'. But Hill was back on ESPN on Thursday and, at the end of the episode, Fagan made an impassioned plea in support of transgender athletes. Their rights have been a divisive issue for several years with athletes such as Lia Thomas and Blaire Fleming finding themselves at the heart of the fierce debate. Since returning to office, Donald Trump has pushed for a ban and even signed an executive order entitled: 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports'. 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Kate Fagan uses the final moments of her return to ESPN and 'Around the Horn' to advocate for trans athletes who want to play sports: "Trans kids deserve to play sports." 😳 Around the Horn has been canceled due to low ratings... — Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 8, 2025 His administration is suing Maine for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women's sports. But Fagan spoke out against their marginalization. 'Being on this show has been a privilege and a platform and I know it's my last time on it and I want to say something worthy of that privilege and platform,' she began. 'That is this: trans kids deserve to play sports. Think about what you remember from your time playing sports and 99 percent of it is: finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives. 'It's that moment when you have a great play with a teammate, it's the feeling of belonging and it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve that - the same as everybody else does.' She added: 'This space - on "Around the Horn" - has been about diversity and inclusion, lifting up new voices because sports is joy and sports is humanity. And the more people who have that the better.' Fagan worked for ESPN for several years and regularly appeared on 'Around the Horn' and 'First Take'. She left ESPN in 2018.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
ESPN panelist says 'trans kids deserve to play sports' in final appearance before show's cancellation
"Around the Horn" leaves the airwaves later this month, which means some of the show's panelists are making their final appearances in the coming weeks. That includes Kate Fagan, who appeared for the last time on the show Thursday. Fagan, a longtime writer and reporter, also played college basketball at Colorado. Fagan has made appearances on the show since she was first hired by ESPN in 2012. She left the network in 2018 but has continued to appear on the program. Fagan was determined to be the "winner" of Thursday's show against Jemele Hill, who made a return to the show since leaving the network in 2018. The winner of the episode typically delivers a short monologue, and Fagan said "being on this show has been a privilege and a platform." With Thursday marking her final episode, she used that platform to make a plea for transgender athletes. "I know it's my last time on it, and I want to say something worthy of that platform, and that's trans kids deserve to play sports," she said. "Think about what you remember from your time playing sports. Ninety-nine percent of it is finding that jersey for the first time, your favorite number, community, joy, those high-fives. "It's that moment when you have a great play with a teammate. It's the feeling of belonging. And it does not know gender. Trans kids deserve the same as everyone else does. "Sports is joy. Sports is humanity. And the more people who have that, the better." There is no law or order that bans transgender children from participating in sports. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February that prohibits biological males identifying as girls or women from competing against biological females. ESPN announced the show's cancellation in March, and shortly after, former panelist Jay Mariotti, who was a regular on the show until a domestic violence arrest in 2010, said in an interview the show is being canceled because it went "woke." "I think what John Skipper wanted from some of the shows was he started to install people on the shows who became anti-Trump," Mariotti told Front Office Sports. In a recent post on his own Substack, "Around the Horn ended a long time ago ¸— when I left the show," Mariotti reiterated that some of the panelists went "woke" while others were "on dope." There are now just 11 episodes left of the show, which is over 20 years old. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
