The death of Times sports writer Mike Penner brought an outpouring sympathy from both his longtime readers and those moved by his public transition to a female identity, Christine Daniels.
After Penner’s death last November, The Times’ Chrisotpher Goffard spent several months reporting the sportswriter’s story. Here is a sampling:
In late April 2007, Mike Penner published an article unlike any of the
thousands he had written for the Los Angeles Times. It was brief, just
823 words, and placed without fanfare on the second page of the Sports
section that had been his home for 23 years.Under the headline "Old Mike, new Christine," Penner explained that he
would soon assume a female identity and byline, a decision that
followed "a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching
therapy."
It was "heartache and unbearable discomfort" to remain a man, he
explained. Being a woman promised "joy and fulfillment." The article
ended on a hopeful note: "This could be the beginning of a beautiful
relationship."
Gone was quiet, circumspect Mike Penner, replaced by ebullient,
outgoing — and instantly famous — Christine Daniels. Celebrity meant
a megaphone, and Daniels vowed to use it as an advocate. She told her
story at transsexual conferences across the country, becoming a symbol
of courage to a transgender community inspired by the most visible
coming-out in decades.A year after the essay, the Daniels byline vanished from the newspaper,
and within months Penner was back at work, living as a man and writing
under his male name. Once so voluble about the reasons for becoming
Christine, Penner was silent about the reasons for abandoning the
identity.A year after the essay, the Daniels byline vanished from the newspaper,
and within months Penner was back at work, living as a man and writing
under his male name. Once so voluble about the reasons for becoming
Christine, Penner was silent about the reasons for abandoning the
identity.
This time, there was no essay, no explanation. But friends saw a person
in torment. Last November, in the parking garage of the apartment
complex where he lived alone, Penner killed himself. He was 52.
Read the best of Mike Penner from the pages of the The Times’ sports section.
Share your thoughts and memories below.
Photos: L.A. Times