[anton]

i saw on tv that some players refused to play the this transexual. it said she sued to play the us open one year and won the right to play but was beaten in round 1 by virginia wade.

 

[Ada Monroe]

Well if I was a woman yes I would still play her. But I wouldn't be a woman in the first place

 

[anton]

ok

 

[griffin]

No, I would have played her.

I understand that people had even less of a clue about transsexuality in the '70's than they do today, but the theory that a guy would be desperate enough to weasle into the women's tour to cut his bits off is ridiculous.

 

[anton]

i think i would have played the match too in that situation.
i think on that tv program it was betty stove who spoke out that it might create a lot of transexuals playing on the ladies tour, but she seems to be wrong since there are zero as far as I know.

 

[VSFan1 aka Joshua L.]

A lot of people, even the gay and lesbian community, often overlook transexuals as insignificant.

They are just as important, and admirable as anyone else, and the process they go thru takes a lot of guts.

I would have played her, but that is based on the knowledge that I have as a happy gay man....I don't know what it would be like if I was a woman.

 

[Volcana]

Renee Richards actually got pretty far up the rankings, if memory serves. I'll do some research. But I seem to recall she may hae gotten as high as #10 for a couple weeks. That's NOT a fact. That's a very foggy memory. I'll hunt around.

 

[Darran]

The fact remains that "she" was a man, so should not have been allowed to play on the womans tour, its absurd t suggest that its perfectly acceptable for "her" to have done so.

 

[Steve1]

it does create an unfair advantage to the male who had been playing against or playing themselves a higher standard.

 

[griffin]

Keep in mind that "man" had been chemically (and probably surgically) castrated years before playing in the WTA. That hormone therapy would have removed most if not all of the physical advantage "he" might have possessed.

fwiw/imo - whether or not you think RR should have been allowed to play in the WTA, if this person felt so strongly that they were truly a woman trapped in a male body, that the physical form was an error, that they were willing to undergo such a radical, traumatic and even dangerous transformation, the least we can do is respect HER decision and stop referring to her as "he" or as a man. Renee Richards would probably tell you she is not a man who became a woman, but a woman who after many years was able to have her outer form reflect who she really was all along.

 

[anton]

well she sued and won the right to play so somebody felt she should be on the WTA Tour.

 

[VSFan1 aka Joshua L.]

griffin said it perfectly

it's not fair for any of you to judge a transexual because i, myself, don't even want to fathom the feelings they have....it must be extremely difficult.

 

[irma]

no, she is a woman only something went wrong with the conception that's not her fault!



when I was little I often thought, shoot I would feel awful when I was a boy(I didn't even want to wear trousers because of that), now I was born in the right body so no problems for me there but the idea horrified me for some reason so I can only be glad things went right
so I am not in the positions to judge people who went through this hell!

 

[Dawn Marie]

No, I would play the human being that was set to play me. Personally it would be more important to me as an person and an opponent to want to make sure that Renee didn't feel discriminated against on a tennis court.

 

[Ryan]

Great posts Dawn and Grif.


Personally I can't understand the feelings she must have felt, but there's not reason as to why she shouldn't be allowed ot play on the WTA Tour. Do you actually think when she was Richard "Hey! If I become a woman maybe I'd be better on the WTA?" NO. She felt trapped, like Griffin said, and you have to be able to accept and respect her decision. If I were a woman(god forbid) I'd play Renee.

 

[Dawn Marie]

Under the surface it isn't about being a transexual or being black or white, or straight or gay. It's about human rights.

Also if a women who were now a man decided to play on the ATP tour I would play him too.

 

[Gambill_Rules]

I can see why people would not play her but i don't think i would refuse but i am not a woman so i don't know!

 

[Chloe le Bopper]

If I was a professional athelte, I would go out there and do my job, period.

It wouldn't be my responsibility to decide wether or not she should or shouldn't be there.

That said, I agree with what Griffin and Dawn have both said on the subject.

I'm sure people who go through that deal with enough problems, they hardly need any more discrimination and ignornance thrown at them.

 

[disposablehero]

To my way of thinking, Renee would have twice the advantage of a heavy steroid user, so yes, I would refuse.

 

[Dawn Marie]

Renee didn't dominate so she had no advantage obviously. I disagree disposable because just because Renee was previously a man does not mean that her body type was an advantage when she became a women. Seriously if she were my opponent right now, I would not begrudge her the chance to play me. I just think that if someone didn't want to play Renee, it would have nothing to do with the fact that she use to be a man, and her body type would be and unfair advantage. I think it would be because people don't want a transexual on the tour. So for that reason, I say let her play.

This is a debatable subject though.

Good thread anton.