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Mike Penner, Journalist Who Changed Genders, Dead in Apparent Suicide

Nov 28, 2009 – 1:41 PM
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Michael David Smith

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Mike Penner, the Los Angeles Times sports writer who declared himself a transsexual and wrote under a woman's name but soon switched back to a male identity, has died in an apparent suicide.

Penner was the subject of news stories around the world when he said in 2007 that he didn't considere himself a man and that he would continue his sports writing career under the byline Christine Daniels. In 2008, however, he started living as a man again and using the name Mike Penner again. He was very public about his first gender change, but mostly private about changing back.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Penner was found dead at his home. The paper quotes Sports Editor Mike James talking about Penner:
"He was one of the most talented writers I've ever worked with. He was a gentle man, a kind man," James said. "It's just a tragedy."
In 2007, Penner wrote, "I am a transsexual sportswriter. 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."

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Filed under: Sports

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