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For all of its trappings of money, fame, and corruption, professional sports has a lot to do with character. Avid sports fans seem to respect those who face up to overwhelming challenge and overcome adversity. So it should not come as a surprise that readers rose in solidarity when a 23-year veteran sports writer announced in the Los Angeles Times that he would return from a short hiatus ... as a woman.
On April 26, Mike Penner wrote what he thought would be the toughest article of his career. "I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words." The piece ran in the Sports section, next to his regular column.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Penner's story was "by mid-evening, one of the most heavily viewed stories on latimes.com in the last year, with about half a million page views." Nancy Sullivan, executive director of communications for the newspaper, says "There was a massive response to this story, not only on our website, but across the media spectrum." The online message board accompanying the article was closed to comments in less than 8 hours, with 800 comments logged in. Hundreds more messages were sent via e-mail. Responses to the revelation came in three distinct flavors: kudos from sports fans, effusive thanks from other transsexuals and rants from bible-thumpers. Readers' initial shock, however, subsided almost immediately.
Michael Daniel Penner returned to work on May 23 as Christine Michelle Daniels. So far, it appears to be smooth sailing. But Daniels' very public transition has put a spotlight on a culture that is slow to acknowledge, let alone attempt to rehabilitate its ingrained intolerance and bigotry.
Translating her world
"The concept of one day having to come out publicly, as an LA Times sports columnist, was a paralyzing fear that, looking back, kept me from transitioning at least 5 years sooner," Daniels tells In These Times. She says she was "bracing for the worst."
Many of Daniels' colleagues have gone out of their way to champion her cause. "Some sportswriters," she says, "have written column items of support, some who know me pretty well have spoken to others on my behalf, without my knowledge, delivering the message that, 'This is just another writer, a normal person, facing a difficult challenge.'"
Sports blogs almost uniformly expressed admiration for her courage and wished her well. Overall, readers seem to be mildly bemused, but focused on her return to work. One commenter summed up the majority consensus: "Yea yea yea and all that girlie stuff, no problema. ... But how 'bout them Angels this weekend? Gonna get back to bizz? Need you back Christine."
Some response has been negative. It's difficult to assess where it originates -- within the sports community or those drawn by the spectacle. TheAngryT.com, an obscure sports blog, rants, "I am a straight male ... Do you care what I look like or whether I wear high cut panties out of the Sears women's wear catalogue? LA Times readers should no longer look for Mike Penner's column when they want hard-hitting sports journalism."
Sportswriters frequently express passion and enthusiasm for their subject, exposing more personality than reporters covering different beats. They often develop loyal followings and become a trusted voice that keeps readers up-to-date. In a world of high ticket prices, the sportswriter functions as the reader's passport to the field, court or stadium. For Daniels, this connection to her fans, and the known quality of her writing, may have smoothed her transition.
"I just always liked the spark in his writing, his wit and his use of language," says fellow Southern California journalist Joel Beers. "Penner's done a lot: covered the Olympics, wrote about media, NFL lead writer. But, after 23 years, it'd seem he'd be a dean of the Times sports section as opposed to just another very good writer in a section that has a lot of them. I always wondered why he seemed to bounce from beat to beat but never got what would seem to me the choicest of assignment: columnist."
See more stories tagged with: mike penner, christine michelle daniel, los angeles times, sportswriter, gender, transsexual
John Ireland covers progressive politics and social dynamics in the United States, exploring "democracy in action." He has been published in numerous periodicals, including In These Times, Newsweek, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun and the Advocate. He can be reached through his blog, http://www.JohnIrelandBlog.com.
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