Trans Rights Take Center Court at the U.S. Open

08/24/22 • 35 min

August 27, 1976. Renee Richards expects to play tennis at this year’s U.S. Open. Coming off several impressive performances in top amateur tournaments, she wants to try her hand against the best competition in the world. But today, shortly before the tournament is set to begin, the USTA bars her from playing on the basis of her gender identity. A media firestorm and a precedent-setting lawsuit soon followed, changing the landscape for trans athletes for generations to come. Why did the U.S. Open initially decide to keep Renee Richards from competing, only to reverse its decision 11 months later? And how does her landmark court case continue to impact trans athletes and other marginalized groups to this day?

Special thanks to our guests; Joanna Harper, Ph.D researcher in transgender athletic performance at Loughborough University, author Sporting Gender: The History, Science, and Stories of Transgender and Intersex Athletes; Karleigh Webb, writer and contributor for SB Nation’s Outsports.com and host of the Trans Sporter Room Podcast; and Schuyler Bailar, a gender literacy and transgender advocate and educator, and creator of LaneChanger, an online gender literacy learning series.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The Longest Free Fall

August 16, 1960. Captain Joe Kittinger steps into the passenger compartment of a balloon. He's preparing to travel higher than anyone has ever been in open-air: more than 100,000 feet. From there, he plans to jump. Today, Joe Kittinger sets the unofficial record for longest and highest parachute jump along with the longest free fall in history. His success will change the future of space travel. What does Kittinger’s mission reveal about human’s ability to survive at altitudes never reached before? And will the mission be enough to inspire humans to travel beyond the Earth?

Special thanks to Colonel Joe Kittinger himself, and Craig Ryan, co-author of Come Up And Get Me: An Autobiography of Colonel Joe Kittinger.

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Appalachian State vs. Goliath

September 1, 2007. A roaring crowd overlooks a football field in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The top-ranked University of Michigan team is going up against a small North Carolina school, Appalachian State University. Michigan paid App State to come to town... and lose. And yet, things have not gone as planned. Michigan trails by two points with just six seconds left in the game. They're positioned to kick a game-winning field goal, and the win all but certain. Today, David takes on Goliath. Can Appalachian State go into the Big House and pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history? And how does this one game change the trajectory of a small North Carolina college town for years to come?

Special thanks to David Jackson, former Appalachian State University play-by-play announcer; Jeff Dillman, former Appalachian State University strength and conditioning coach; CoCo Hillary, former Appalachian State University wide receiver; John Holt, former Appalachian State University right guard; Jay Sutton, former Appalachian State University associate athletic director; Charles Davis, former Big 10 lead analyst; Julian Rauch, former Appalachian State University kicker; and David Marmins and Steven Feit, co-authors of the book Appalachian State Silences The Big House.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.