Old Mike, new Christine

By Mike Penner
Times Staff Writer

April 26, 2007

During my 23 years with The Times’ sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. NFL columnist. Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.

Today I leave for a few weeks’ vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.

As Christine.

I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.

Best of luck to you, Christine! Finally, a biography of someone sports-centric that I might actually pick up and read. And I love the whole Trainspotting/Transamerica mix up. . .water cooler office gossip at its best.

Full article here. . .