Veteran sports columnist Matt Calkins has resigned from The Seattle Times, ending an 11-year stint after the newspaper declined to publish a column he wrote about Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and transgender participation in women's sports.
The journalist announced his decision on social media and later explained his reasons in a detailed Substack post, saying he no longer felt able to do his job without editorial restrictions.
He wrote on Substack describing it as his new “space” and said, “The plan for now is to keep writing in this space.”
Matt Calkins' net worth and family
Calkins' resignation has raised interest in his career, family and finances. Although his precise net worth has never been disclosed, the information that is now accessible indicates that a lengthy career in sports journalism was the main source of his wealth.
According to Indeed's data insight, The Seattle Times' columnists earn an average annual salary of about $81,299, though compensation varies depending on experience, seniority and responsibilities. As a nationally recognised columnist with more than two decades in journalism, Calkins may have earned above average.
However, there are no public records disclosing his salary, investments or overall net worth.
{{/usCountry}}According to Indeed's data insight, The Seattle Times' columnists earn an average annual salary of about $81,299, though compensation varies depending on experience, seniority and responsibilities. As a nationally recognised columnist with more than two decades in journalism, Calkins may have earned above average.
However, there are no public records disclosing his salary, investments or overall net worth.
{{/usCountry}}Calkins has also never publicly revealed the details about his family and personal relationships.
Matt Calkins' journalism career
Calkins joined The Seattle Times in 2015. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest, Calkins worked as a Sports Columnist in San Diego at The San Diego Union-Tribune.
According to his Seattle Times profile, he began covering high school sports at the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 2004. The sports buff then started his career officially at The Press-Enterprise, where he worked for 6 years as a sports columnist. Calkins then moved to The Columbian. There he worked as a Portland Trail Blazers and a general sports columnist.
His work earned widespread recognition. Calkins won National Sports Columnist of the Year three times and was featured in Best American Sports Writing. The awards cemented his reputation as one of the country's leading sports opinion writers.
Also read: Why did WNBA subreddit block Sophie Cunningham's name? Reddit controversy explained
Why did Matt Calkins resign?
In a lengthy Substack essay, Calkins said the final trigger for his resignation was the newspaper's refusal to publish one of his columns. The piece centered on two female student-athletes who opposed competing against transgender athletes assigned male at birth.
The piece followed interviews outside a Seattle Storm game, where supporters gathered to thank Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham after she publicly opposed biological males competing in girls' and women's sports.
Calkins wrote that one teenager, Ahnaleigh Wilson, told him she was not anti-trans despite opposing transgender participation in female sports. Another athlete, Frances Staudt, shared similar views after refusing to compete against a biological male in basketball.
His proposed column argued that supporting separate competitions for biological females should not automatically lead to accusations of transphobia.
According to Calkins, editors reviewed the draft over several days before informing him that it would not be published. He wrote, “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 told me later that day that he and others were looking at it, but that it wouldn’t be ready for Sunday’s paper. Monday night, I got an email saying that his boss was hoping to talk to the top two newsroom editors about it on Wednesday.”
He added, “No feedback had been given to me. Thursday afternoon, my editor informed me that it wasn’t going to run because I didn’t tell him I was doing this in advance.”
He rejected that explanation, saying the article would have been rejected immediately if that had been the real concern.
"My response? To resign on the spot," he wrote.
Calkins also claimed several columns were previously shelved, including pieces on the U.S. women’s soccer equal-pay lawsuit, cancel culture in sports and reactions after George Floyd’s death.
He wrote, “I’ve always thought that it was a columnist’s duty to generate discussion on the most hot-button issues. To avoid such topics was to leave the reader shortchanged.”
Despite expressing uncertainty about his future, Calkins said he preferred leaving over feeling “muzzled.”
He further added, “ I guess in the end, I just didn’t feel like I could do my job properly anymore.”