I am thrilled to share the news that my second book is in the works! FINDING RENÉE is a biography of Renée Richards, a transgender woman who successfully sued for her right to compete in the 1977 U.S. Open.
Some news I just broke for
@SInow
: More than 550 college athletes just sent the NCAA a letter demanding it remove championships from states passing or considering anti-trans bills targeting youth sports:
BREAKING from
@howardmegdal
for
@SInow
: The WNBA fined the New York Liberty $500K—down from $1M—for taking chartered flights last season, against CBA rules. Options floated by the league’s general counsel included possible termination of the franchise
South Dakota HB1217 is dead! A HUGE thank you to everyone across the country who wrote, shared, and elevated the urgency of this issue, and thank you so much to the incredible organizers in South Dakota who have worked relentlessly to protect trans people. BIG LOVE!
Great, sorely needed article on anti-fat bias in gender-affirming care and BMI requirements for top surgery, something I encountered in my experience finding a surgeon
In the new movie “LFG”, there is a concerning level of dishonesty about U.S. Soccer and the USWNT’s compensation that we feel must be addressed. Specifically, lawyer Jeffrey Kessler presents a misleading and inaccurate account of the facts.
(Thread) 1/17
As we get ready to cheer on the
#USWNT
in Sunday’s final, let's note that they’re fighting for equal pay—and their advocacy could help all female athletes. I’m proud to stand with
@mpinoe
and this team for fighting to win, on and off the field.
I love Sabrina as much as (or more than!) the next guy, but the WNBA jersey sales thing is SO misleading. Not everyone’s jerseys are available to the same degree, or even close, and the league puts certain (non-Black) players in your face all season long
This story by
@arya_roshanian
about Angelea Preston from Top Model getting shunned by the show because she’s done sex work is everything I wanted to read at the time I watched this season years ago
This morning,
@AthleteAlly
and 40 pro/Olympic/Paralympic athletes, including Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and Becky Sauerbrunn) sent a letter to many House legislative directors opposing the federal anti-trans sports ban bill (HR 734):
One thing it’s really not hard to do is to add the word “men’s” to a tweet or article if you’re talking about a men’s team. It’s just good journalism to be precise and clear
If the trans athlete bans are about preserving the sanctity of women’s sports, why have some states also banned trans boys and men from competition? I dug into this for
@SInow
:
“I want trans girls to have a girlhood. I want trans boys to have a boyhood.” —
@ZoAndBehold
to me for
@SInow
a year and a half ago. She was a state-ranked wrestler in high school. She just won her election to the state legislature in Montana.
I feel like I can't watch a single WNBA or NWSL game without enduring at least one frequently mispronounced name. Tonight it's the Liberty's Michaela Onyenwere's name that the announcers refuse to learn
BREAKING: The NAIA, a collegiate sports governing body, voted today to ban transgender women from women’s sports. Trans athletes and advocates fear the NCAA could be next. My
@washingtonpost
story with
@dougherty_jesse
.
@dailytarheel
will stop calling college athletes “student athletes”: "The NCAA has used the term ... to place 'student athletes' in a no man's land between student and employee, yet detached from the realities of both.
From the Liberty’s alternate governor in a September letter to the league reviewed by SI: “We cannot begin to talk about gender equity until we solve some pressing issues that have put extra burdens on the health and well-being of WNBA players.”
Hey, here's a thread of all the reporting I've done on trans athletes so far. I'm really proud of this body of work, and I'll still be looking for new stories.
Hi! I’m hiring a part-time fall intern for the
@SInow
copy desk. The student will earn $17.39/hour and must be eligible for academic credit. Please email me with a réaumé and cover letter to apply: julie.kliegman
@si
.com
I had the pleasure of catching up with goalkeeper
@SarahFuller_27
a while on from her Vanderbilt kicking days. Her mental health was in jeopardy this spring, and now she’s ready to speak out. For
@SInow
.
@Layshiac
belongs in this league, 100 times over, and whichever team signs them is v v smart. I know I'll miss him on my team. Read
@britnidlc
to learn more about Layshia:
From a copy nerd perspective, you’ll note that we seamlessly use multiple pronouns (he/she/they) for Layshia, because Layshia uses multiple pronouns! Editors (and all humans), take note! Want to also shout out
@TransJA
’s style guide here:
I wrote for
@them
about the decades of surprisingly robust history of zine culture centered on asexuality, an identity often relegated to the fringes of queer culture:
Reporters (esp newer ones) please stop using computers to type. Using a computer is time-consuming and leads to an overreliance on words in your writing.
I tried to sell an essay for Season 2 about how now that BoJack was gone aces would have to go back to fighting for crumbs of asexual representation, like a one-off episode in Sex Ed. No one bought it.
So lemme get this (not)straight —
@netflix
put in a fantastic scene where an asexual character finds a word for herself after building up in the episode that she feels different and it’s healing and everyone raves and in the next season she’s just MISSING? I’m???
#SexEducation
Hi, aspiring copy editors! I’m hiring for a *remote* spring
@SInow
copy desk intern at $17.39/hour. This is a 10-week internship at 24 hrs/week (preferably split into three full days). College credit required. Send a cover letter and résumé to julie.kliegman
@si
.com by EOD Nov. 7
For
@SInow
, I wrote about the 26 states currently attacking trans athletes. It was my pleasure to speak with a lot of trans athletes, past and present:
“One day, if we get to the point that two or three of the worst quarterbacks in the league are African American, that will let me know we’ve gone somewhere, when people who are black get the opportunity to be average, or not as good.”
ACLU, Lambda Legal and a transgender boy, Luc Esquivel, are suing Tennessee over its anti-trans sports law. He just wants to play golf with other boys. Story from
@benpickman
here:
Today is my last day at Sports Illustrated. It’s been four years, almost to the day, since I started (Jan. 13 ... 2020). I never did get any pages on cats in the stylebook, but I’m otherwise quite proud of my time at SI and grateful for all my pals there, past and present.
While we’re talking about using a slur on air (ugh), let’s consider: “Homophobic” implies a fear that can’t be helped. “Anti-LGBTQ” is more precise and more neutral: It describes a bigoted attitude or belief.
@RottenInDenmark
Also, I, specifically, am asexual. Zero sex for me, please! Calling it an “essential part of our social fabric” is just patently untrue, regardless of what the numbers show
Atlanta Dream co-owner and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler poured gas on her feud with WNBA players when she filed a bill that would effectively ban trans girl and woman athletes from sports. For
@SInow
I spoke to players and experts about her latest move:
New York Mets general manager Jared Porter sent explicit photos, including a naked picture of a penis, to a foreign female reporter in 2016 after she had ignored dozens of other messages from him for weeks.
Details in news story with
@minakimes
at ESPN:
Hello! I am so excited to say that we’re rolling out a
#WNBA
25th-anniversary celebration and season preview this week on
@SInow
. You’ll be able to find all our stories here:
One month after the World Cup win, what’s up with the USWNT lawsuit? And how close are we to a turning point for the domestic women’s game? Here's my
@ringer
look:
My first story for
@SInow
is a look at how athletes’ mental health is being affected by the pandemic. Experts told me losing their sport can be akin to losing a loved one.
@Simone_Biles
,
@kevinlove
, and others weighed in.
@RingerUnion
We’re asking for, among other things:
- better compensation and overtime
- severance
- diversity
- creation of 401ks and other benefits
- transparency
- creator rights
I love working for The Ringer in part because they let me and others publish progressive pieces on labor rights. Here’s my new update on the USWNT’s fight for equal pay: cc
@RingerUnion
The Simone Biles news reminds me of my chat with her in April 2020 for a story about elite athletes' mental health during the pandemic. Back then, she wasn't even sure whether she'd compete this year.
Our response to today’s story from
@futurism
reporting that The Arena Group has published AI-written stories by fake people under the Sports Illustrated name:
Happy Election Day. Can WNBA players take down U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler? I guess we’re about to find out. Here’s my October
@SInow
look at the battle in Georgia
For
@SInow
, I wrote about the next frontier in the battle for transgender rights: sports. Idaho banned trans girls and women from competing, and Lindsay Hecox is fighting back:
I haven't contributed to The New York Times, but as a trans journalist I shared my support alongside those who have by signing on to this open letter. The Times needs to do better in covering trans people
Hi! Let me explain trans athlete policies to you for
@SInow
, if that is something you would like explained. There have been a lot of developments lately, with more to come. We plan to update this:
Breaking for
@SInow
: More than 300 collegiate and elite swimmers and divers signed an
@AthleteAlly
and
@sb_pinkmantaray
letter to the NCAA in support of Lia Thomas’s right to compete
The fact that so many of you are clicking and reading and praising this excellent story gives me hope that there’s the huge audience I think there is for queer sports stories. Keep ‘em coming!
Putting it into the ether that I am available to talk on your podcast or vidya about trans athletes' eligibility. I am also happy to recommend some other smart humans I know!
Hey, this super sucks—and doesn't even follow AP's own belated, half-hearted stylebook entry. Journalists can and should be better about using people's correct pronouns. There's no excuse.
I love my job and appreciate the hell out of my colleagues at The Ringer. That’s why I’m so excited to make everyone’s experiences even better with our
@ringerunion
: