Longtime L.A. Times sportswriter Mike Penner, who made headlines in 2007 when he announced he was transitioning and would be taking the name Christine Daniels, has died in L.A. Authorities suspect he committed suicide.
Said Penner in his April 2007 column: 
"Today I leave for a few weeks' vacation, and when I return, I will
come back in yet another incarnation…As Christine [Daniels]…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. I realize many readers and colleagues
and friends will be shocked to read them."
Penner's gender identity made the news again last year when he announced that he would be taking back the name Mike Penner.
Said Times Sports Editor Mike James: "He was one of the most talented writers I've ever worked with. He was a gentle man, a kind man. It's just a tragedy."
