This turned out to be a lot more interesting that I might have thought. I remembered the "Renee Richards" controversy back in the '70s but hadn't heard anything in years and have a neutral opinion about the whole episode, frankly. What I'm referring to is a man, an excellent amateur tennis player, who had a sex-change operation and then, one day, decided to play professional tennis as a woman.
"He" was Richard Raskind, a ranking national junior tennis player from New York City who also served in the Navy and became a noted eye surgeon/opthomologist. To make a long-story-short, Richards led an back-and-forth existence as a man who really wanted to be a woman. When he did finally change to a "she," newly-named "Renee Richards" was content to be live a whole new life anonymously out in California. That changed once she entered, and won, a tennis tourney.
The whole story is fascinating. Seeing Dr. Richards' appearance today, and then back in the '70s and then as a younger man is just astonishing. You can't believe it's the same person.
Like a lot of 30-for-30 specials, it's just an interesting human story.
"He" was Richard Raskind, a ranking national junior tennis player from New York City who also served in the Navy and became a noted eye surgeon/opthomologist. To make a long-story-short, Richards led an back-and-forth existence as a man who really wanted to be a woman. When he did finally change to a "she," newly-named "Renee Richards" was content to be live a whole new life anonymously out in California. That changed once she entered, and won, a tennis tourney.
The whole story is fascinating. Seeing Dr. Richards' appearance today, and then back in the '70s and then as a younger man is just astonishing. You can't believe it's the same person.
Like a lot of 30-for-30 specials, it's just an interesting human story.