Matt Calkins has resigned as sports columnist for the Seattle Times after 11 years. He says the paper refused to run a piece he wrote ahead of the Storm clash with Indiana.
It was his own decision. And he has not held back on the reason.
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The column was tied to the Sophie Cunningham debate. Ahead of the Seattle Storm game against the Fever, Calkins spoke to people at a rally supporting Cunningham outside Climate Pledge Arena.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Why Matt Calkins resigned from the Seattle Times
Calkins had planned to write from the perspective of two female student athletes. One had lost to a biological male in a track race, the other said she had faced verbal abuse after refusing to play in a basketball game involving competing against a biological boy.
He wanted the piece to make a simple point. That supporting the separation of biological females and males does not automatically make someone transphobic.
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The paper disagreed. Calkins was told it would not run because he had not flagged it in advance, though it had passed through several editors over days.
He did not buy that explanation. He resigned on the spot.
Writing on X after the news broke, Calkins said:
‘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.’
This latest issue is part of a wider story around the Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who took a public stance on biological males competing in women’s and girls’ sports. That position has drawn both rallies of support and criticism inside the WNBA.
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Meanwhile, Cunningham has said she wants the WNBA to be able to discuss controversial issues while also focusing on basketball. The Fever guard recently said, ‘We can be a great example of how to do both.’
WNBA coaches have also taken different positions on the debate. Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has reaffirmed her support for transgender athletes, while Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has called for ‘love’ and inclusivity.
For Calkins, the resignation comes after other columns were also shelved. He mentioned pieces on women’s football equal-pay claims, cancel culture, and one urging people to listen to a coach speaking after the death of George Floyd.
He says the pattern was the same each time. Columns that went against the prevailing newsroom line did not see the light of day.
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The Seattle Times has not yet responded to Calkins’s account. He plans to keep writing on his own Substack while his next move takes shape.
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