Former Seattle Times Sports Columnist Resigns Citing Political Interference in Story Publication
Matt Calkins, a long-time sports columnist for The Seattle Times, has resigned from the publication, alleging that several of his pieces, including a recent one on transgender athletes in women's sports, were not published due to political reasons. Calkins stated that his column on transgender athletes, which stemmed from an Indiana Fever vs. Seattle Storm game and included perspectives from teenage girls who had competed against biological males, was withheld by editors. He claims this was not an isolated incident, citing other unpublished articles since 2020 that challenged prevailing newsroom narratives, such as pieces questioning the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s discrimination lawsuit and a column on cancel culture in sports. Calkins believes the newspaper's editorial philosophy on these issues was incompatible with his role as a columnist. 
