Matt Calkins Resigns Over Controversial Column Decision

Former Seattle Times sports columnist Matt Calkins resigned after his column on women’s sports activists was rejected. Calkins, who had a 11-year tenure at the newspaper, stated that the rejection prevented him from fulfilling his role effectively.

His column focused on two Washington student-athletes opposing transgender girls in female sports. They recently gained attention after attending a WNBA game to support Sophie Cunningham’s stance on protecting women’s sports. Calkins aimed to argue that supporting sex-separated sports does not equate to hostility towards transgender individuals.

I tried to write a column through the eyes of two student athletes who were kind of speaking out against biological males in, in girls/women’s sports and I submitted this column a couple Fridays ago to my editors… basically six days went by and they said, ‘Uh, we’re looking at it. Um, let me give it to this editor. This editor is gonna have a talk with the top two editors.’ And six days later they decided it wasn’t gonna run, Calkins told Fox News Digital.

Calkins shared that the management cited not being informed beforehand as a reason for not publishing the piece, which he did not accept. He expressed that he wanted to highlight the voices of girls opposed to competing against transgender athletes in women’s sports.

He mentioned that there was a pattern when his columns opposed mainstream views. Anytime I would kind of go against the grain, my columns would get spiked, he said. Despite the disagreement, Calkins respects his editors, acknowledging the challenges they face with divisive topics.

The controversy began before a Seattle Storm game at Climate Pledge Arena. Calkins attended a rally supporting Sophie Cunningham and interviewed two young athletes, Ahnaleigh Wilson and Frances Staudt, who shared their experiences with transgender competition.

Wilson accused Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton of confronting her, which led to Keaton facing a suspension and fine by the WNBA. The incident inspired Calkins’s editorial, which he later published independently on Substack after resigning.

As Washington voters prepared to deliberate Initiative IL26-638 in November, which proposes restrictions on biological males in female sports, the political backdrop underscored the relevance of Calkins’s column. His departure also raises questions on editorial leeway for columnists.

Without immediate career plans, Calkins expressed a desire to write independently. I love to keep writing. I love sports. I love to be able to speak my mind, he expressed.

Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital with a focus on political and cultural sports issues through an investigative approach. His work has been referenced in government actions related to Title IX and covered by major media outlets.