Hi, everyone! I am a full-time independent sportswriter and your support allows me to continue doing this work. I use paid subscription money to hire an editor for my reporting. An All-Access VIP or Biggest Fan tier subscription also supports the community that we are building here, which includes events like the Out of Your League Book Club and author events like this one, and our (very active) paid subscriber Discord server.
Even though author events are usually reserved for All-Access VIP or Biggest Fan tier subscribers, I’m making this event open to all OOYL subscribers. I hope you’ll take advantage of it and join us!
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I am so excited to announce a virtual event with Julie Kliegman, the author of the excellent new book FINDING RENEE RICHARDS: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer.
I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to get to talk to Julie about this book. I think they were the perfect person to write it, and they don’t shy away from grappling with the more complicated parts of Richards’ story. Full disclosure, Julie is a friend of mine and was my editor at Sports Illustrated. Together, we worked on a few great stories, including one that has received awards and recognition.
For folks who don’t know, Richards was the first trans woman to play women’s sports professionally, and she sued the Women’s Tennis Association in the 1970s to win the right to play. Her case was helped mightily by public support from Billie Jean King, and Richards went on to coach Martina Navratilova. Today, Richards believes it was wrong of her to play professional women’s tennis, and she is against trans women playing women’s sports.
Julie was lucky enough to have Richards’ participation and blessing while writing this book, and I think they do justice to her story while leaning into the contradictory parts of it.
From the book’s description:
Fifty years ago, tennis player Renée Richards made international headlines in her fight to compete in the women’s draw of the 1977 US Open—marking the first time a trans athlete sued to participate in professional sports in the gender category with which they identify. Renée eventually won her case. Though she lost in the first round of the singles tournament, she and her tennis partner made it to the finals in doubles, losing to Martina Navratilova and her partner.
Finding Renée Richards chronicles Richards’s extraordinary life, moving from her tumultuous upbringing in Queens, New York, to her career as a successful eye surgeon; her years as a star tennis player to her role as a transgender pioneer. Now in her nineties, Renée remains a complex figure: A person who changed the sports world forever yet questions the place of trans athletes in that world today. GLAAD award-nominated sports journalist Julie Kliegman deftly probes these contradictions, drawing on intimate interviews and offering critical reflections on what is at stake for athletes, fans, and the queer community today, at a time when trans participation in sports is more hotly contested—and condemned—than ever before.
photo by me! Julie at the FINDING RENEE RICHARDS event at Brookline Booksmith in Boston
Our Zoom event will be on Thursday, October 15th at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Julie will be joining us for that conversation, which is open to all OOYL subscribers. The conversation will be recorded and sent out to everyone who registered for the event, so you can watch it even if you can’t join us live.
Access to the Zoom event requires registration. You can register for the ‘FINDING RENEE RICHARDS’ AUTHOR EVENT here.
