Renee Richards talks trans athletes, much more on Wertheim pod

Sports-journalism stalwart Jon Wertheim invited pioneering former tennis pro and coach Dr. Renee Richards onto one of his latest episodes of the Beyond the Baseline podcast. That pod, produced for Sports Illustrated, typically features spellbinding, 35- to 50-minute conversations with prominent figures in the tennis sphere. This one, featuring a freshly fully COVID-vaccinated Richards, was no different.

Dr. Richards unintentionally joined Wertheim's pod at an intriguing time. This pioneering former pro, who transitioned after competing in men's tennis events, then played on the WTA Tour after winning in court the right to do so.

Her former charge is one Martina Navratilova, who Dr. Richards coached to two Wimbledon singles titles. Navratilova quite recently signed on as a founding member of the Women's Sports Policy Working Group, a consortium of former pro athletes, coaches, and organizational leaders determined to make opportunities better for female athletes. That organization announced its arrival on February 3, the International Day of Women and Girls in Sport. The group quickly found criticism over seeking to opine on issues affecting transgender (male-to-female) athletes, and for having among its members just one man and zero trans people.

In September 1977, Richards won the right to face off against her WTA competition at the US Open. A year earlier, she had been denied entry to compete in the event after refusing to submit to a chromosome test. Yes, it was a different era, and yes, a New York Times article at the time inarticulately drummed up Richards' dead-name and referred to her having undergone a "sex-change operation."

On that day—September 1, to be precise—she would drop the match 6-1, 6-4, but to say her presence on court that day was founded on the principle of the matter would be an understatement.

Dr. Richards and Wertheim's classically wide-ranging conversation is available on Apple Podcasts and more platforms, ahead of Richards' release of a book about her work as a medical professional. "It really has nothing to do with [psychosexual or transgender topics]," Dr. Richards said matter-of-factly, noting her tome received grant money so as to be published.

Humbly, Dr. Richards noted that she might not be the "absolutely world-class" eye doctor Wertheim touted her as in this episode. "We don't have a ranking for that like we do in the ATP or WTA. I don't know exactly where I rank. Maybe there's someone in Switzerland or Brazil doing better eye-muscle surgery than I ever did."

Reader, I hesitate to offer standalone quotes from this episode sans full context. Spare a half-hour's time—or multitask whilst listening—in favor of Dr. Richards' stories and perspectives. Be challenged by them, challenge them, and ultimately be better for the brain-flexing that this eye-muscle surgeon and groundbreaking tennis pro catalyzes in everyone who lends the time.