Matt Calkins, a sports columnist for The Seattle Times for over a decade, announced his resignation on Thursday, saying the paper's decision to kill his column on transgender athletes in women's sports was the final straw.
In a post on social media, Calkins said the move was entirely his own choice and not an easy one. He explained that the impetus was the Times' refusal to publish a piece he wrote from the perspective of two female student-athletes who opposed 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 wrote.
In a longer essay on Substack, Calkins detailed how he had gathered material for the column at a rally supporting WNBA player Sophie Cunningham before a July game between the Seattle Storm and the Indiana Fever. Cunningham, who plays for the Fever, has backed state efforts to restrict transgender athletes' participation in youth sports.
At the rally, Calkins spoke with a 16-year-old girl who said a transgender athlete had beaten her in a track race, and another student-athlete who claimed she faced daily verbal abuse after refusing to compete against a biological boy. Both, he said, emphasized they were not anti-transgender.
“So that was the thesis of my column … that supporting the separation of biological females and males doesn't automatically make you transphobic, so let's stop throwing those labels around,” Calkins wrote.
The Seattle Times declined to comment on the resignation, telling The Hill it does not discuss personnel matters.
The WNBA has become a flashpoint in the broader cultural and political debate over gender, race, and equity, particularly regarding transgender participation. Cunningham has been a central figure, drawing national attention for her outspoken views. The league's handling of the issue has also drawn political scrutiny, with figures like former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom announcing a symbolic bid for the 2027 WNBA Draft, saying he meets all eligibility requirements if simply declaring one's identity is enough.
The league has also formed a task force to study transgender athlete policy, a move reported by the Associated Press in early August. The controversy has spilled into other arenas, including youth sports participation gaps and college sports legislation in Congress.
Calkins ended his announcement by saying he holds no animosity toward anyone at The Seattle Times.
