Is this a fireable offense?

I hope I'm not d_b'ing this, but I didn't see any discussion of it yet.

Apparently Christine Daniels, the L.A. Times sports columnist who used to be a man named Mike Penner, was at David Beckham's debut for the L.A. Galaxy last weekend. And San Bernadino Sun columnist Paul Oberjuerge inexplicably thought it would be appropriate to write a blog entry about whether or not Daniels is a good-looking woman.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32857621&postID=7511785689578104911

(Click the link soon, before the Sun comes to its senses and has Oberjuerge delete it.)

You've got to be freaking kidding me.

I think I remember the previous Penner/Daniels thread turning a little ugly, and I don't want to stir that pot. But is there any instance in which this would be an appropriate thing to write? Does the fact Daniels is a writer for a prominent newspaper (and is blogging about her experiences) make it OK?

I'd say no. Your thoughts?

 

I can't imagine why you would write that.

What's the upside? What's the benefit to the reader?

 

My grandmother was 6-5, 265, and ran a 4.4-40.

 

This is what happens when blogs aren't subject to editing. You would have to think that if he filed this like any other story that some editor would have said, "You know what... Maybe we shouldn't do this..."

 

Some of the comments are brutal. This was absolutely not appropriate to write as a sports blog. If you want to mention this to your friends, that's one thing, but to put it out there as part of your paper's web site? Well, me thinks the San Bernadino Sun may be posting a job opening soon.

 

Absolutely pointless and stupid. One of the comments was right on when it said he sounds like a 12-year-old who heard the word "nuts" and can't stop giggling. Time to grow up a little.

 

Ugh. Beyond brutal. I'll rarely call someone out, but this was inappropriate. Well, in case the SB Sun wakes up and deletes it, here it is in hard copy...



Sunday, July 22, 2007
'Christine Daniels' Makes Galaxy Appearances
For those of you who don't pay close attention to the movements and personalities of L.A. market sports print journalists ... and that's just about all of you, I know ... we've had some in-the-flesh sightings of former L.A. Times writer Mike Penner.

Penner is the guy who announced in, what, April? that he would henceforth be living as a woman, name of Christine Daniels. He/she was born a man, lived as a man for about 50 years, was married, etc. ... but always wanted to be a woman, and told the world so in a column the L.A. Times ran.

Quite a drama, that is. But none of us had actually seen Mike ... uh, Christine ... since the announcement. Aside from her friends in the biz.

Mike/Christine had been fairly careful about being specific about the plumbing/lifestyle side of things ... until a Sports illustrated column by Rick Reilly a few weeks ago in which our SoCal colleague revealed he often had locked himself in the bedroom and tried on women's clothes and took snapshots -- that he kept under lock and key. Hmm. He also said he "wasn't suicidal, but could see it from there." Something like that.

Anyway, Christine had been mostly a rumor. Out of men's clothes ... but not out on the job.

That changed over the past 10 days. We were at the Beckham introductory thing at Home Depot Center ... and were heading upstairs for the small-scale interviews in the suites ... when I spotted a very large woman ahead of me ... and it struck me, "Whoa. That's Mike Penner. Christine."

Anyway, I feel bad for the guy/girl. From what little I've seen of the blog he/she is doing, she (I'm gonna try to stick with the female thing now) seems quite happy. Buoyant, even. Massively relieved to be living as a woman. And that's fine.

But ...

I hate to be judgmental about these things, but Christine is not an attractive woman. Which probably isn't a surprise when you're 50 and have spent your in-the-world life as a fairly drab guy. Who has a fairly prominent Adam's apple (not all of us do) ... Who also isn't exactly petite. Maybe 6-1, 200?

So ... she looks like a guy in a dress, pretty much. Except anyone paying any attention isn't going to be fooled -- as some people are by veteran transvestites.

Another guy in the business was sitting near me when "Chris" wobbled by on her mid-size heels, and she demurely said hello to this other guy, who is about the same age as the two of us. And this guy said, "Hey, Mike ... uh, Christine." He was embarrassed because he wanted to get it right, but he didn't. Christine said something like, "Some habits are hard to break." She was kind about it.

The thing is, and maybe this is cruel, but there were women in that room who were born women in body as well as soul. And the difference between them and Christine was, in my mind, fairly stark.

It seemed almost as we're all going along with someone's dress-up role playing ... and I assume it's far more important than that inside this person's head. But it's going to take a while for the Average Joes among us to get our minds around this. And I've got to assume Christine understands that.

 

Mizzou makes a great point.

Interesting topic. My gut reaction is to say that it's a clear case of someone stepping over the line. There might be an inside joke here, but the reader doesn't know that. All that matters is what the reader perceives to be the case. But part of me also wonders how this is different than someone making jokes about Roseanne Barr.

 

It's borderline until he starts talking about the way she looks. Then, it becomes impossible to defend...

 

Jeez, it's amazing to me a grown man would do this, let alone a long-time columnist.

It's one step up from blogging about the "hotness" of the women you work with or cover.

Absolutely out of bounds, and I can't believe the paper hasn't removed it.

 

ASt many places, it is a fireable ofense. Discipline will depend on Oberjuerge's potision at his newspaper.

As soccer writers go . . . . Penner/Daniels is someone who discovered the game in 1994, and writes about it with humor and writes interesting stories. Oberjuerge . . . . . never met a "Look! Soccer and especially Landon Donovan are wonderful!!!!" story he didn't like. Both are good people.

But frankly, it's not close. Oberjuerge just isn't as consistently good as Penner/Daniels has been through the years.

There. Maybe Oberjuerge visits the site and will now say "Hey! What right does this person have to be less than flattering about me on the Internet!"

Reading the entry, maybe dude thought he was being funny, since Penner/Daniels has been part of the SoCal soccer journalist scene for a while, as has Oberjuerge. Because if Oberjuerge was deliberately taking a potshot . . . . Penner/Daniels remains someone whose work I seek out. Oberjuerge . . . does not.

For posterity, in its entirety:

Sunday, July 22, 2007
'Christine Daniels' Makes Galaxy Appearances

For those of you who don't pay close attention to the movements and personalities of L.A. market sports print journalists ... and that's just about all of you, I know ... we've had some in-the-flesh sightings of former L.A. Times writer Mike Penner.

Penner is the guy who announced in, what, April? that he would henceforth be living as a woman, name of Christine Daniels. He/she was born a man, lived as a man for about 50 years, was married, etc. ... but always wanted to be a woman, and told the world so in a column the L.A. Times ran.

Quite a drama, that is. But none of us had actually seen Mike ... uh, Christine ... since the announcement. Aside from her friends in the biz.

Mike/Christine had been fairly careful about being specific about the plumbing/lifestyle side of things ... until a Sports illustrated column by Rick Reilly a few weeks ago in which our SoCal colleague revealed he often had locked himself in the bedroom and tried on women's clothes and took snapshots -- that he kept under lock and key. Hmm. He also said he "wasn't suicidal, but could see it from there." Something like that.

Anyway, Christine had been mostly a rumor. Out of men's clothes ... but not out on the job.

That changed over the past 10 days. We were at the Beckham introductory thing at Home Depot Center ... and were heading upstairs for the small-scale interviews in the suites ... when I spotted a very large woman ahead of me ... and it struck me, "Whoa. That's Mike Penner. Christine."

Anyway, I feel bad for the guy/girl. From what little I've seen of the blog he/she is doing, she (I'm gonna try to stick with the female thing now) seems quite happy. Buoyant, even. Massively relieved to be living as a woman. And that's fine.

But ...

I hate to be judgmental about these things, but Christine is not an attractive woman. Which probably isn't a surprise when you're 50 and have spent your in-the-world life as a fairly drab guy. Who has a fairly prominent Adam's apple (not all of us do) ... Who also isn't exactly petite. Maybe 6-1, 200?

So ... she looks like a guy in a dress, pretty much. Except anyone paying any attention isn't going to be fooled -- as some people are by veteran transvestites.

Another guy in the business was sitting near me when "Chris" wobbled by on her mid-size heels, and she demurely said hello to this other guy, who is about the same age as the two of us. And this guy said, "Hey, Mike ... uh, Christine." He was embarrassed because he wanted to get it right, but he didn't. Christine said something like, "Some habits are hard to break." She was kind about it.

The thing is, and maybe this is cruel, but there were women in that room who were born women in body as well as soul. And the difference between them and Christine was, in my mind, fairly stark.

It seemed almost as we're all going along with someone's dress-up role playing ... and I assume it's far more important than that inside this person's head. But it's going to take a while for the Average Joes among us to get our minds around this. And I've got to assume Christine understands that.

 

Wow, what a bad idea this author had. Hard to believe the paper hasn't taken it down yet and put up a mother of an apology - as well as calling/writing daniels in person. Just an atrocious lapse of judgment.

And this:

is beyond condescending.