Reporter Quits Over Sophie Cunningham Column Dispute

Longtime Seattle Times sports columnist Matt Calkins resigned Thursday after 11 years following editors' refusal to publish a column about WNBA player Sophie Cunningham's stance on transgender athletes. Calkins wrote the piece after two Washington student-athletes attended the July 28 Fever-Storm game wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts supporting Cunningham's view that transgender women should not compete in women's sports. He said editors held his column for weeks before rejecting it, citing his failure to clear the topic in advance—a reason he found unconvincing. The columnist expressed respect for his editors despite the disagreement. Cunningham, the Indiana Fever's fourth-leading scorer off the bench, has continued defending her position. Calkins noted several previous columns with contrarian views had been spiked, contributing to his decision. The Seattle Times has not publicly commented on the resignation.