ESPN Radio Hosts Suspended for Mocking Transgender Basketball Player

Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin

Transgender woman Gabrielle Ludwig, a Desert Storm veteran, got to fulfill her life-long wishes by going back to college and playing for Contra Costa Community College's basketball team at age 50.

But that didn't stop ESPN radio hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin from brutally degrading her experience and mocking her appearance and calling her "he/she" and "it."

According to Outsports, the radio hosts also say transgender people should not play sports, and conveyed disgusted reactions regarding her appearance.

Helen Carroll, an advocate for LGBT people in athletics said the language used in the broadcast is "inexcusable."

The duo issued a 10-second apology, according to the report, for calling Ludwig an "it."

A request for comment from the ESPN radio station in Washington, D.C., which airs the show, has not yet been returned.

UPDATE: ESPN980 has suspended sports talk show hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin for their segment last week.

In a statement sent out Tuesday, the station wrote: "We strongly believe two of our employees crossed the line when discussing a transsexual person on their program last Thursday. Such intolerance and insensitivity will never be tolerated by this company. Due to the nature of this conversation, the pair have been temporarily removed from ESPN980's Sports Reporters program."