{"id":24478,"date":"2026-08-21T13:51:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T13:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24478"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:51:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T13:51:59","slug":"i-was-a-sports-columnist-at-the-seattle-times-for-11-years-this-is-why-i-resigned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24478","title":{"rendered":"I was a sports columnist at the Seattle Times for 11 years. This is why I resigned"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I really wanted the column to run. I didn\u2019t think it would, but I felt obligated to try to get it in.<\/p>\n

Toward the end of last month, before the Seattle Storm hosted the Indiana Fever, I spoke to people attending a rally in support of Sophie Cunningham outside Climate Pledge Arena. The Fever guard had recently taken a stance against biological males competing in women\u2019s\/girls sports, and a few dozen folks showed up to express their gratitude for her position.<\/p>\n

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"protesters<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Pro-trans protester harasses Sophie Cunningham supporter through megaphone.<\/span> (XX-XY Athletics)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

One of them was 16-year-old Ahnaleigh Wilson, who\u2019d lost to a biological male in a track and field race in eighth grade and was holding a sign reading “Thank You Sophie for Speaking up for Girls!”<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know if I was going to write something at that point, but after she allegedly got cussed out by a Storm co-owner during the game, I felt like I had to weigh in.<\/p>\n

One thing Wilson emphasized to me at the rally was that she wasn\u2019t anti-trans. Another student-athlete named Frances Staudt \u2014 who said she\u2019s endured daily verbal abuse after refusing to play against a biological boy in a basketball game \u2014 echoed Wilson\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n

So that was the thesis of my column (which you can read here) \u2014 that supporting the separation of biological females and males doesn\u2019t automatically make you transphobic, so let\u2019s stop throwing those labels around.<\/p>\n

I sent a draft after talking to my editor the morning of Friday, July 31, telling him there was no rush to run it. He told me later that day that he and others were looking at it, but that it wouldn\u2019t be ready for Sunday\u2019s paper. Monday night, I got an email saying that his boss was hoping to talk to the top two newsroom editors about it on Wednesday. No feedback had been given to me. Thursday afternoon, my editor informed me that it wasn\u2019t going to run because I didn\u2019t tell him I was doing this in advance. I didn\u2019t buy this reasoning. If that were the case, the piece would have been killed on the spot, not passed through the hands of multiple editors over several days.<\/p>\n

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\"Ahnaleigh<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Ahnaleigh Wilson and Sophie Cunningham<\/span> (Courtesy of Elizabeth Wilson, Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

SEATTLE TIMES COLUMNIST RESIGNS AFTER PAPER ALLEGEDLY REFUSED TO RUN ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ COLUMN<\/strong><\/p>\n

My response? To resign on the spot.<\/p>\n

That may come off as an emotional decision, but it was exactly what I was prepared to do. This, after all, was one of several columns of mine that had been spiked at the Seattle Times.<\/p>\n

One was a piece questioning whether players for the U.S. Women\u2019s Soccer Team were really the victims of discrimination in their equal-pay lawsuit. Another was a more general column on cancel culture in sports. The last, written shortly after George Floyd\u2019s death, implored people to listen to state-champion basketball coach Mike Bethea \u2014 a black man urging the public not to stereotype cops. The common theme? All of these challenged prevailing newsroom narratives and likely would have triggered the outrage mob.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always thought that it was a columnist\u2019s duty to generate discussion on the most hot-button issues. To avoid such topics was to leave the reader shortchanged. I guess in the end, I just didn\u2019t feel like I could do my job properly anymore.<\/p>\n

Right now, I\u2019m in the tenuous position of trying to defend my resignation without sounding like a malcontent. So let me say \u2014 I\u2019m very grateful for the 11 years I had at the Seattle Times. The talent there is immense, and the editors let me have a lot of fun with other stories. I also realize where the brass is coming from. The mob is frightening and does not forget. Lots of seemingly brave souls have submitted once activists got their hooks in them. If I had more people depending on me, perhaps I\u2019d act similarly.<\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

But in thinking about this decision, I kept going back to an Albus Dumbledore line: “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”<\/p>\n

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\"Fans<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Fans hold a sign for Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during the first half between the Seattle Storm and the Indiana Fever at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash., on July 28, 2026.<\/span> (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To be honest, I\u2019m scared shitless right now. I have no idea how the next few months or years are going to play out. But that fear beats the indignity of being muzzled.<\/p>\n

The plan for now is to keep writing in this space. Maybe that will spawn a new career, or maybe I\u2019ll be a dental assistant in two years. I genuinely don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

All that\u2019s certain is that I\u2019m done holding back. The best things in life are free \u2014 speech being at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

This column was originally posted on <\/i>Matt Calkins’ Substack<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

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