The conversation stemming from Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's comments on transgender athletes added another plot point on Thursday, with a prominent sports columnist saying he resigned due to censorship over the topic.
Matt Calkins, who penned columns for The Seattle Times for more than a decade, announced on X this afternoon that he was stepping down.
"After 11 years as a sports columnist at The Seattle Times, I have decided to resign," Calkins wrote. "It was entirely my choice, and it was not an easy one. The impetus was the Times declining to run a column I wrote from the perspective of two female student athletes who were opposed to competing against biological males. It was one of several pieces of mine that had been spiked, and I no longer felt like I could properly do my job as a columnist."
Calkins, who also said he "enjoyed my time with the paper" and "have no animosity toward anyone who works there," went into greater detail on what led to his decision on his personal Substack.
While covering a WNBA game last month between the Seattle Storm and the Fever, Calkins encountered two teenage girls who were part of a pregame protest supporting Cunningham's views on keeping transgender women out of women's sports. After speaking with them, Calkins said he felt they weren't anti-trans and decided to write a column arguing that "supporting the separation of biological females and males doesn't automatically make you transphobic."
#Seattle #sports #athletes
Matt Calkins, who penned columns for The Seattle Times for more than a decade, announced on X this afternoon that he was stepping down.
"After 11 years as a sports columnist at The Seattle Times, I have decided to resign," Calkins wrote. "It was entirely my choice, and it was not an easy one. The impetus was the Times declining to run a column I wrote from the perspective of two female student athletes who were opposed to competing against biological males. It was one of several pieces of mine that had been spiked, and I no longer felt like I could properly do my job as a columnist."
Calkins, who also said he "enjoyed my time with the paper" and "have no animosity toward anyone who works there," went into greater detail on what led to his decision on his personal Substack.
While covering a WNBA game last month between the Seattle Storm and the Fever, Calkins encountered two teenage girls who were part of a pregame protest supporting Cunningham's views on keeping transgender women out of women's sports. After speaking with them, Calkins said he felt they weren't anti-trans and decided to write a column arguing that "supporting the separation of biological females and males doesn't automatically make you transphobic."
#Seattle #sports #athletes
2 months ago
