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Title: Courting controversy: Documentary of transexual tennis player Renée Richards
Post by: Shana A on August 04, 2012, 09:23:58 AM
Post by: Shana A on August 04, 2012, 09:23:58 AM
Courting controversy: Documentary of transexual tennis player Renée Richards By T?Cha Dunlevy, GAZETTE FILM CRITIC August 3, 2012
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Courting+controversy+Documentary+transexual+tennis+player+Ren%C3%A9e+Richards/7037282/story.html (http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Courting+controversy+Documentary+transexual+tennis+player+Ren%C3%A9e+Richards/7037282/story.html)
Some controversies fade with time, but remain as fascinating as ever. Director Eric Drath revisits a still-hot topic with Renée, his thought-provoking documentary on transsexual tennis player Renée Richards. Until her 40s, Richards lived life as Richard Raskin, a gregarious ladies' man, talented amateur tennis player and highly respected eye surgeon.
After undergoing a sex change in 1975, Richards was denied entry into the women's competition at the U.S. Open in 1976. The decision was overturned by the New York Supreme Court, allowing her to play in the Open the following year.
The event shook the tennis world, and Drath talks to many of the top players at the time, including Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Mary Carillo and John McEnroe.
[...]
Navratilova's history with Richards goes back to the latter's initial attempts to compete in the U.S. open.
"I was a member of the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), on the board of directors," she recalled. "We were discussing (her case) as soon as it came to our attention. We were like, 'What do we do with that?' It was the first time it had happened in pro sports. I remember thinking, 'If she wants to play, and if she's legally a woman, she should be allowed.' "
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Courting+controversy+Documentary+transexual+tennis+player+Ren%C3%A9e+Richards/7037282/story.html (http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Courting+controversy+Documentary+transexual+tennis+player+Ren%C3%A9e+Richards/7037282/story.html)
Some controversies fade with time, but remain as fascinating as ever. Director Eric Drath revisits a still-hot topic with Renée, his thought-provoking documentary on transsexual tennis player Renée Richards. Until her 40s, Richards lived life as Richard Raskin, a gregarious ladies' man, talented amateur tennis player and highly respected eye surgeon.
After undergoing a sex change in 1975, Richards was denied entry into the women's competition at the U.S. Open in 1976. The decision was overturned by the New York Supreme Court, allowing her to play in the Open the following year.
The event shook the tennis world, and Drath talks to many of the top players at the time, including Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Mary Carillo and John McEnroe.
[...]
Navratilova's history with Richards goes back to the latter's initial attempts to compete in the U.S. open.
"I was a member of the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), on the board of directors," she recalled. "We were discussing (her case) as soon as it came to our attention. We were like, 'What do we do with that?' It was the first time it had happened in pro sports. I remember thinking, 'If she wants to play, and if she's legally a woman, she should be allowed.' "