Another Sad Death

For some of us when we transition we face tremendous societal pressure against us. Society likes conformity and it punishes those who transgress the norm, sports writer Mike Penner faced that pressure when she transitioned. In 2007, she transitioned and went by the name, Christine Daniels, however, in 2008 she de-transitioned. No reason was ever state as to why she did go back to being identified as male, but I can imagine that one of the reasons was the pressure that she felt from society because she was a transsexual. Being such a public figure in a male dominate field, I feel, must have played a part in her de-transitioning. Yesterday, she was found dead of an apparent suicide.

AP reported that…

LA Times sports writer Mike Penner dead at 52
By JOHN ROGERS (AP)

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner, who announced two years ago he was a transsexual and was changing his name to Christine Daniels, has died at age 52, the newspaper reported Saturday.

Penner was pronounced dead Friday at a hospital, said Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Brian Elias. He said coroner's officials hadn't yet performed an autopsy or issued an official cause of death.

The Times said in a story Saturday Penner was believed to have committed suicide. Penner had returned to using the name Mike Penner last year and was a Times columnist at the time of his death.
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Penner revealed that journey on April 26, 2007, when he wrote a story for the Times headlined "Old Mike, New Christine," in which he revealed he was taking a few weeks vacation and when he returned to his job as a sports writer it would be as a woman named Christine Daniels.

"I am a transsexual sports writer," Penner wrote. "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."

The announcement sent shock waves through the sports world, but Penner's bosses were supportive.