Before we get into it, an invitation for readers in the New York City metro: On Wednesday, August 19 at 7 PM ET, I’ll be joining the brilliant Rachel E. Greenspan’s live show, club internet, discussing debating the existence of so called “cancel culture” with a few gifted culture critics like Kat Tenbarge of Spitfire News (if you like how I cover sports, there’s a lot to enjoy about Kat’s approach to entertainment), vibe-shifting YouTube essayist Princess Weekes, and America’s last great gonzo writer, Luke Winkie of Slate.
We’ll be at Littlefield in Bushwick. I’ll be comparing two “canceled” former sports stars, showing how the consequences for their behavior may have been equally severe, they were far from equal. Tickets are here!
If you’re reading this, you aren’t currently a paid member of eyeblack. Maybe you:
were gonna get around to it but procrastinated (you are so real for that)
are waiting for that $9 per month raise your boss promised
resolved you would only financially support an investigative journalism outlet that uses the prism of sports to interrogate and analyze identity, power, money, labor, health, government and technology, if/when such support came with periodic opportunities to receive hotly anticipated nonfiction books.
Well I have good and oddly specific news for you. I’m thrilled to announce that Julie Kliegman and their publisher, HarperOne, are partnering with eyeblack by raffling away a copy of their critically acclaimed upcoming book Finding Renée Richards for our first first PAID member raffle. And all you need to enter the raffle is a
1) a live paid membership by Monday, August 17 at 5 PM ET
2) a US mailing address1
Thanks for helping us keep your eye on the ball.
If I knew for sure that Enes Kanter Freedom (she/her/hers) could read, I'm certain he would be with this book.2
Julie Kliegman's outstanding—and since Royce White came out,4 more timely than they wanted—upcoming biography celebrates the importance of the pioneering transgender tennis pro. But, even while allowing for real tension between the legacy she left for aspiring transgender athletes, and her current day opposition to trans women in competitive sports.
But the book is more than just a retelling of a contemporary debate, it’s searingly honest, witty, heartwrenching, and creative in its use of "fourth wall" that allow readers to see that, for this veteran trans sports journalist—a pioneer in their own right as the former Sports Illustrated copy chief—that the concerns told and retold through the book aren’t abstractions. It’s tangible, and felt, and I can’t recommend it enough.
I’m not alone. Publisher’s Weekly knows ball and gave Finding Renée Richards a starred review, and the New York Times dug it too.
BRADFORD WILLIAM DAVIS: I'm glad you get to talk about trans people in sports during such an uneventful few weeks of trans-sports discourse. Seriously, though—what have the last few weeks been like for you, promoting a book that probes questions made sometimes in good faith, but usually bad, while also being a trans person yourself?
JULIE KLIEGMAN: It's been a really interesting few weeks. There's a new development in the discourse practically every day, and it's almost all in bad faith. It's stressful—there's this constant feeling of, does anyone actually hear what I'm trying to say with this book?
BWD: What would make this conversation about transgender athletes better? Or at least less frustrating?
JK: One thing that would help right now is if the WNBA would just shut the noise down. Say plainly: "We stand by trans athletes, we'd welcome a trans athlete in our league." And leave it at that. Right now the ambiguity just stokes the fire and is creating distrust among queer fans.
BWD: It's darkly funny that Royce White, last seen declaring himself WNBA draft eligible, could have, in another part of our multiverse, been a protagonist for your first book on athletes and mental health when he was pushing for better travel accommodations for basketball players who struggled with anxiety over flying. Now he’s trying to mock people who want trans athletes to succeed in pro sports. Why do you think figures like White get so much attention despite being so nakedly unserious?
JK: Yeah! I think it traces back to American politicians who found gender policy as a wedge issue—maybe six or seven years ago. Before that, it really wasn't a flashpoint. Once people realized sports was a wedge that could stir up bad-faith concerns about trans people, bad actors like White and Kanter3 rushed in to capitalize.
BWD: There's always an appetite for what I'd call buffoonish bigotry. You don't need any sophisticated advocacy for prejudice. They just need someone loud. It reminds me of when Congress held a hearing on reparations and called in Ta-Nehisi Coates—by then the most prominent voice on the subject—and then Republicans countered with a college undergrad who writes for The Free Press. For me, as a Black man who isn’t trans, that’s what it feels like when I look at debates about trans people. Even self-described allies don't include trans people who've actually thought deeply and written about these issues for years. Why do you think that happens?
JK: I just think people are really skittish around this issue. It’s hard for me to tell who among cis people is actually someone who cares and wants trans people in sports. Most should maybe sit this one out.
BWD: How did you decide when it was the right moment to step in and show your own wrestling with her conclusions, especially where you disagree with her pretty profoundly about trans women in sports?
JK: I think these areas popped up pretty naturally for me. Usually a situation where I'd couldn't stop thinking about one of our conversations, or something i read in one of her books, would provoke me to share my feelings about what I’m witnessing. In some cases, I would have such a strong natured reaction, like the parts where I spoke to Martina Navratilova. Like, I gotta talk into the camera about this, because it was just that jarring.