‘You are doing the right thing’: Martina Navratilova backs writer’s transgender stance
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been outspoken with her views about transgender athletes. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion believes transgender women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.
On Thursday, Navratilova publicly voiced her support for Matt Calkins, a sports columnist for The Seattle Times. Earlier in the day, Calkins announced he was resigning from his position after 11 years because the paper would not publish a column he wrote in support of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who made headlines for saying she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Navratilova makes her feelings clear
The 69-year-old International Tennis Hall of Famer thanked Calkins for his stance, adding that “many” people appreciate it.
“Thank you Matt- you are doing the right thing. And many of us really appreciate it and appreciate you… bravo!” Navratilova tweeted.
Navratilova, a staunch Democrat and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, recently said she was considering boycotting the party if they continue to pursue a pro-transgender platform.
Calkins crashes the culture war
The longtime journalist’s decision to step away stemmed from the paper’s decision to spike his Sophie Cunningham column, which he eventually published on his personal Substack.
However, Calkins said The Seattle Times had refused to run several columns of his on controversial topics in the past.
“One was a piece questioning whether players for the U.S. Women’s 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’s death, implored people to listen to state-champion basketball coach Mike Bethea — a black man urging the public not to stereotype cops,” he explained.
“The common theme? All of these challenged prevailing newsroom narratives and likely would have triggered the outrage mob.”
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