I quit my 11-year job after the Seattle Times killed my Sophie Cunningham column — read it here

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Key points

• I sent a draft after talking to my editor the morning of Friday, July 31, telling him there was no rush to run it.
• Matt Calkins is a former sports columnist for The Seattle Times.
• One thing Wilson emphasized to me at the rally was that she wasn't anti-trans.
• Monday night, I obtained an email saying that his boss was hoping to talk to the top two newsroom editors concerning it on Wednesday.
• That may come off as an emotional decision, but it was exactly what I was prepared to do.

I really wanted the column to run. I didn't think it would, but I felt obligated to try to obtain it in.

Toward the end of last month, before the Seattle Storm hosted the Indiana Fever, I spoke to individuals attending a rally in backing of Sophie Cunningham outside Climate Pledge Arena.

Notably, the Fever guard had lately taken a stance against biological males competing in women's/girls sports, and a few dozen folks demonstrated up to express their gratitude for her position.

One of them was 16-year-old Ahnaleigh Wilson, who'd lost to a biological male in a track and field race in eighth grade and was holding a sign reading "Thank You Sophie for Speaking up for Girls!"

I didn't know if I was going to write something at that point, but after she allegedly obtained cussed out by a Storm co-owner during the game, I felt like I had to weigh in.

One thing Wilson emphasized to me at the rally was that she wasn't anti-trans. Another student-athlete named Frances Staudt – who remarked she's endured daily verbal abuse after refusing to play against a biological boy in a basketball game – echoed Wilson's sentiment.

So that was the thesis of my column (which you can read here) – that supporting the separation of biological females and males doesn't automatically create you transphobic, so let's stop throwing those labels around.

I sent a draft after talking to my editor the morning of Friday, July 31, telling him there was no rush to run it. He informed me afterwards that day that he and others were looking at it, but that it wouldn't be ready for Sunday's paper.

Monday night, I obtained an email saying that his boss was hoping to talk to the top two newsroom editors concerning it on Wednesday. No feedback had been given to me. Thursday afternoon, my editor informed me that it wasn't going to run since I didn't tell him I was doing this in advance. I didn't purchase this reasoning. If that were the case, the piece would have been killed on the spot, not passed through the hands of multiple editors over a number of days. My response? To resign on the spot.

That may come off as an emotional decision, but it was exactly what I was prepared to do. After all, was one of a number of columns of mine that had been spiked at the Seattle Times, this.

One was a piece questioning whether players for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team were really the victims of discrimination in their equal-pay lawsuit. Another was a more general column on cancel culture in sports. The last, written shortly after George Floyd's death, implored individuals to listen to state-champion basketball coach Mike Bethea – a black man urging the public not to stereotype cops. In practice, the common theme? All of these challenged prevailing newsroom narratives and probable would have triggered the outrage mob. Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter.

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I've always thought that it was a columnist's duty to generate discussion on the most hot-button problems. To avoid such topics was to leave the reader shortchanged. I guess in the end, I just didn't feel like I could do my job properly anymore.

Right now, I'm in the tenuous position of trying to defend my resignation without sounding like a malcontent. So let me say – I'm particularly grateful for the 11 years I had at the Seattle Times. The talent there is immense, and the editors let me have a lot of fun with other stories. I additionally realize where the brass is coming from. Meanwhile, the mob is frightening and does not forget. Lots of seemingly brave souls have submitted once activists obtained their hooks in them. If I had more individuals depending on me, perhaps I'd act similarly.

But in thinking regarding this decision, I kept going back to an Albus Dumbledore line: "We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy."

To be honest, I'm scared sh-less right now. I have no idea how the next few months or years are going to play out. But that fear beats the indignity of being muzzled.

For context, the plan for now is to keep writing in this space. Maybe that will spawn a new career, or maybe I'll be a dental assistant in two years. I genuinely don't know.

All that's certain is that I'm done holding back. The best things in life are free – speech being at the top of the list.

Matt Calkins is a former sports columnist for The Seattle Times. He now writes on Substack at mattycee.substack.com.

In short, I quit my 11-year job after the Seattle Times killed my Sophie is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.