Veteran sports columnist Matt Calkins has resigned from the Seattle Times after an 11-year tenure, stating the newspaper declined to publish his column that addressed the issue of transgender athletes competing in women's sports.
Calkins announced his resignation on the platform Substack, detailing that the decision was prompted when editors withheld and ultimately rejected a piece he wrote prior to a Seattle Storm game. The column focused on a rally supporting Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who had expressed opposition to transgender women participating in female sports categories.
"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," Calkins wrote. "The Fever guard had recently taken a stance against biological males competing in women's/girls sports, and a few dozen folks showed up to express their gratitude for her position."
During the demonstration, Calkins interviewed 16-year-old Ahnaleigh Wilson, who reportedly lost to a biological male in an eighth-grade track and field race and held a sign that read, "Thank You Sophie for Speaking up for Girls!" Calkins noted that Wilson emphasized she was not anti-trans.
He also mentioned speaking with another student-athlete, Frances Staudt, who shared similar sentiments after allegedly facing "daily verbal abuse" for refusing to play against a biological boy in a basketball game.
Calkins stated that the central argument of his column was that supporting the separation of biological females and males in sports does not inherently equate to being transphobic, and that such labels should be reconsidered. He submitted the draft on July 31.
According to Calkins, editors held the piece for several days before informing him it would not be published because he had not cleared the idea with them beforehand. Calkins rejected this explanation.
"My response? To resign on the spot," Calkins wrote. "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."
Calkins also referenced previous columns that were not published, including pieces on the U.S. Women's Soccer Team's equal-pay lawsuit, cancel culture, and a column after George Floyd's murder that featured a Black basketball coach advocating against stereotyping police officers.
He suggested a commonality among these rejected pieces was that they "challenged prevailing newsroom narratives and likely would have triggered the outrage mob."
Addressing his departure on social media, Calkins clarified that his resignation was his own decision. He expressed that he enjoyed his time at the newspaper, acknowledged the significant talent of its staff, and stated he harbored no animosity towards his colleagues.
"I've always thought that it was a columnist's duty to generate discussion on the most hot-button issues," Calkins reflected, quoting Albus Dumbledore: "We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy."
Calkins concluded by admitting to feeling uncertain about his future but affirmed his commitment to expressing his views freely. "The best things in life are free - speech being at the top of the list," he stated.