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Former Seattle Times Columnist Matt Calkins Joins OutKick

The hire underscores OutKick’s push to grow sports-and-culture opinion under Fox News Digital and offers Calkins the editorial freedom he said he lacked at his previous paper.

Overview

  • Calkins resigned from The Seattle Times in August after editors declined to publish a column he wrote about two female students who opposed competing against transgender athletes.
  • OutKick announced the hiring on September 16, and Calkins will write multiple sports-and-culture columns each week for the platform.
  • OutKick and Fox News Digital praised Calkins’ voice as a fit for their approach, but the company has not disclosed his contract terms, exact beat, or regular column schedule.
  • The move follows OutKick’s recent rebrand and deeper integration with Fox News Digital as the site expands its opinion and culture coverage.
  • The hire illustrates a broader pattern where writers who clash with legacy newsroom editors move to ideologically aligned digital outlets, a shift that could change which contested sports topics reach large audiences.