Finding Renée Richards: the complicated past and present of a trans sports pioneer
In 1977, Richards sued to play in the US Open after transitioning. Now she supports bans on trans athletes in women’s sports. A new biography explores a complex legacy
TL;DR
- Julie Kliegman's new biography, 'Finding Renée Richards,' revisits the 1977 lawsuit by Dr. Renée Richards, a transgender ophthalmologist, to play in the US Open.
- The lawsuit was significant for Richards but did not establish a legal precedent for transgender individuals in sports.
- Kliegman, who is trans and non-binary, draws parallels between Richards's past struggles for inclusion and contemporary debates on transgender athletes.
- Richards, now 92, expresses a current view that trans women and girls should not compete in women's sports if they have undergone male puberty, a stance described by Kliegman as a "180-degree shift" from her 1977 lawsuit.
- Kliegman made a journalistic decision to use birth name and pronouns (he/him for Richard Raskind, she/her for Renée Richards) at Richards's request, deviating from standard journalistic practice.
- Richard Raskind's early life involved gender exploration in private while playing men's tennis, followed by medical school and a career as an ophthalmologist.
- After a marriage and divorce, Raskind underwent sex-change surgery in 1975, becoming Renée Richards, and resumed her tennis career.
- Richards's identity was revealed by broadcast journalist Richard Carlson, leading to challenges from the USTA regarding her eligibility to play as a woman.
- Billie Jean King played a crucial role in advocating for Richards's inclusion within the women's tennis community.
- After retiring from professional tennis, Richards coached Martina Navratilova and returned to ophthalmology.
- Richards's son, Nicholas, died by suicide in 2019, a tragedy that remains a sensitive topic.
- Kliegman observes that Richards now understands restrictions on trans athletes as part of a broader political agenda to marginalize transgender people, a realization that has narrowed the gap between their views.