Dr. Renée Richards Honored by Athlete Ally

So proud of Dr. Renée Richards, who was honored last night at Athlete Ally Action Awards, along with Grant Hill, Michael Sam and Salesforce. Although I was unable to attend, I certainly cannot think of an athlete who deserves to be recognized as a trailblazer more -- can you imagine going out on the world stage of women's tennis as a 40-year-old transwoman? She looked radiant -- she's eighty-f**king-one! -- and the other guests did, too. Congrats to a true LGBT hero, whether she believes she is or not.

Accepting the honor

Kim Catullo, Renée Richards, Christine Quinn

Michael Sam, David Mixner and Rob Smith

Grant Hill, Michael Sam, Scott McCorkle of Salesforce, Renée Richards and Hudson Taylor, executive director/founder

P.S. Do yourself a favor and watch Eric Drath's 2011 documentary about Richards, available HERE.

Athlete Ally to Honor Dr. Renée Richards

Tickets available now HERE.

Excited to read transsexual tennis pioneer Dr. Renée Richards, as well as Grant Hill and Salesforce, will be recognized at this year's Athlete Ally Action Awards.

From a release:

Dr. Renée Richards is both a highly respected tennis champion and highly respected doctor. Her tennis career spans decades, and she successfully changed policies within the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the United States Open Committee to make both organizations more transgender-inclusive.  

“Renée is a pioneer in the LGBT community and as she made the decision to be her authentic self, all she asked was that we accept her and include her,” said Billie Jean King, tennis champion and founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. “With tennis as platform, and as a successful ophthalmologist, Renée has continued to champion equality for all. She is truly a visionary and leader for athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identities. She helped all of us be more comfortable in our own skin and she is so deserving of the Athlete Ally Action Award.”

Her onetime protege, Martina Navratilova, received the honor last year.