Lia Thomas is the ‘biggest bigot’, Brittney Griner is a puppet for the Biden Administration

For five years, Charly Arnolt existed in a world where she says she could not be her ‘genuine, authentic self.’ A world where she says colleagues ‘judged her for every little thing she said or did’, where she felt she couldn’t share her honest opinions.

Now, all that has changed. The broadcaster, 35, has swapped her previous home at ESPN for Outkick and the restraints are well and truly off.

Reveling in her newfound freedom, Arnolt is ready to tackle the most controversial issues in sport, and – sitting down at the Daily Mail’s HQ in New York – nothing is off the table.

Enter Brittney Griner, the 6-foot-9 WNBA player who was rescued from a Russian penal colony by the Biden Administration in exchange for Russian arms dealer, ‘The Merchant of Death’ Victor Bout. 

Last month, Griner weighed in on the trans debate and said it was a ‘crime’ to remove biological men from women’s sports, amid a Republican-led movement to change Title IX to protect women’s sports from biological men, and specifically trans women. 

Charly Arnolt has found a new sense of freedom since departing her role at ESPN for Outkick

Arnolt was heavily critical of Lia Thomas, Brittney Griner & Megan Rapinoe with Dailymail.com

‘You have to look at the administration that got her out of prison in Russia, our current administration,’ Arnolt exclusively told DailyMail.com. ‘So, she’s probably going to do whatever it is that they want her to do.

‘Brittney Griner should be very thankful that she wouldn’t have had that obstacle leading up to this point because she might not be playing in the WNBA if she would have. 

‘I also think that just calling it a crime is taking it one step further, and that’s the scary part, is now it’s not just saying, “Oh, this is wrong”, we’re criminalizing. It’s very much the left’s disposition to take dissenting viewpoints and criminalize them.

‘We’re getting mediocre males who want to cross over into women’s competition. So what if there’s a super dominant male athlete?’

The most high-profile transgender athlete, Lia Thomas competed on the NCAA men’s team for Penn. Thomas ranked 554th in the 500-meter freestyle in 2018-19 while competing against her biological contemporaries. 

In 2022, after identifying as a female and undergoing hormone treatment, Thomas became an NCAA champion in the women’s 500-meter event. 

Thomas has said those who are against biological men encroaching on a space made for women are ‘policing women’s bodies.’ Arnolt though, is in favor of protecting her fellow females and believes Thomas’s call for universal acceptance is shrouded in hypocrisy. 

‘I think she’s the biggest bigot that I have encountered in recent times because she is forcing her own beliefs onto other people and saying that if you don’t believe in this, then you’re a hateful person,’ Arnolt said. 

Arnolt is well known for her coverage of UFC and has views stretching across several sports 

Arnolt disagrees with Britney Griner’s view on biological women competing against each other

Arnolt said Griner will do ‘whatever’ the Biden administration want after they freed her 

‘You were a mediocre athlete in terms of male competition, and then you decided that you wanted to jump up the ladder and enter into the women’s competition. 

‘You are built differently than a woman. Anyone who tries to make the argument that there is a gender spectrum, you can believe whatever you want, but science will tell you, the DNA will tell you, there was a man and there was a woman. I don’t care how you want to identify; at ground zero, that’s who you are.

‘I find it offensive as a woman when a man decides that just because they have decided to live their life and identify differently, that now they can enter into a space that belongs to women that they have fought so hard for and just completely obliterate the success and opportunities that they should have.’ 

Arnolt is keen to make it clear she is an accepting person, but only for a brief moment is she remotely apologetic. Otherwise, Arnolt displays a fire and passion not previously seen as she read from teleprompters in ESPN’s Lower Manhattan studio.

When she announced her ESPN departure, she outlined her excitement at joining OutKick due to its ‘outspoken nature’. It’s clear to see just why she’ll relish such a position. 

The next subject Arnolt broaches is that of Megan Rapinoe, the polarizing soccer star who was as vocal as anyone in the fight for the US Women’s National Team to receive the same pay as their male counterparts – a feat since achieved. 

Now, Rapinoe stands against an alteration to Title IX, and for the inclusion of transgender women in a space previously reserved for biological women. 

‘Suddenly she’s turning around after she retires from playing for the national team and says, “Yeah, I totally I totally believe that males should be able to play with women.” 

‘She’s promoted equality and women’s rights and the ability to be able to share in their success, that is almost completely the opposite to what she’s put forth.’

Arnolt admits she doesn’t know what Rapinoe’s motive is, but suggests it could be similar to her hypothesis of Griner’s situation: acting as a pawn for a higher entity. 

More generally, she is concerned that American society is sleep-walking towards a scary future, urging others to speak up as she is now.

Arnolt worked at ESPN for five years, now revealing she was unable to be her ‘authentic self’

Biological male Lia Thomas went from 554th ranked in NCAAM 500-meters to 1st in NCAAW

Arnolt said that Thomas is ‘the biggest bigot I have encountered’ in recent years of her career

‘I think that once you really take a look at what’s happening or try to involve yourself in the discussion, it really opens your eyes because I think [for] a lot of people ignorance is bliss, right? A lot of people just go about their lives and [think] if it doesn’t affect me right here now, then I’m not going to worry about it. 

‘It’s a slippery slope that we’re experiencing and it’s one issue compiling against another and another and another. And even like we’re seeing in school systems now, in some places, they’ve taken the words “man” and “woman” out of biology lessons. Now they’re referred to as sperm producers and egg producers. 

‘It’s just bizarre, the road that we’re going down. And I don’t see an end to it unless people start speaking up.’

While ESPN may be associated with speaking up on topics fitting a politically correct agenda, the sports giant has been criticized – by Arnolt and others – for not providing balance on topics such as the transgender movement in sports. 

At the network, Arnolt felt as if her honest opinions could not be shared. So much so, she stopped tweeting opinions from her own personal Twitter account for fear of negative retribution. 

Megan Rapinoe (R) has had very recently contrasting views about women’s sports

Walking on eggshells was part of her ESPN existence and while she admits some of its biggest personalities like Stephen A. Smith can be offered opportunities to express their thoughts, there is little room for conversations such as this. 

‘I think there would be repercussions,’ Arnolt said of those not named Stephen A, if they were to speak in favor of views not held by the network.

‘I think if enough people stood up for what is right in for issues that need to be more publicly talked about, personally, I don’t think there’s much they could do because what happens when all of the big faces of the company start speaking up, they’re not going to get rid of everybody. 

‘Until people get the courage and realize that until we start standing up for what’s right and putting our foot down on some issues, things are going to continue getting worse and worse.’