Matt Glantz Enrages Jennifer Shahade by Claiming to be a Woman

07:10
21 Apr

Matt Glantz sparked an uproar on Twitter after he joked that he currently considers himself a lady by mocking the Women's All-time Money List.

Identifying as a woman takes me to 2nd on the Women's All Time Money List in Poker.

Please respect my decision w/o any unnecessary nonsense or blowback.

I expect @PokerNews@TheHendonMob & @CardPlayerMedia to make all necessary changes to the rankings.

Ty for your support! pic.twitter.com/NRDLpvjc6X

— Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) April 9, 2022

Jennifer Shahade, a poker and chess prodigy, quickly informed Glantz that his tweet was horrible, even if Glantz intended it to be a joke.

If you really ID as a woman now, Congrats.

If you’re doing this in bad faith, it’s vile and a sign you’re losing whatever argument you’re trying to win.

🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 ♥️ https://t.co/RJdBnnlx2A

— Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) April 10, 2022

Shahade, a PokerStars professional and two-time US women's chess champion, said:

"So you are a lady now?" I absolutely would not pass judgment on that. Do you still use the name, Matt? I am perplexed since I have not seen any other instances of you identifying as female in your life or on Twitter. However, since I silenced you for a bit, I may have missed something. If that is the case, please accept my apologies and congratulations!"

However, Shahade had a genuine reason for calling Glantz up, as she clarified:

"I have worked for over a decade supporting women, girls, and gender minorities in mind sports." I have never seen anyone do this in ill faith (and rarely in poker). If you are the first to do so, it shows that liberal policies recognising gender identity work."

Glantz's profits of $7,387,139 as a 'woman' in his fantasy world would see him pass Annie Duke, Kristen Bicknell, and Kathy Liebert to claim the second spot, with just Vanessa Selbst ahead of "her."

Given that women account for barely 5% of poker players, they often face sexism and harassment; the numbers and relative issues for transgender poker players are unclear but unlikely to improve.

Like transgender poker player Alexa Heart, many others felt the same way Shahade did about Glantz's apparent pretence, and she went on to explain why the matter was so essential.

It's cute you thought this was funny..or even witty..or that this is even how it actually works.
Talk to me when you've been beaten within an inch of your life because you're trans after turning down some meat heads advances because he felt less of a man.

— Alexa (@thealexaheart) April 10, 2022

Another transgender professional poker player, June Cuervo, chronicles her poker experience on social media, posting Instagram photos of her cash tourneys in Las Vegas.

June remarked last year in an interview with Lee Jones:

"I am unaware of any other transgender poker players in Las Vegas." Perhaps I can set an example for others, demonstrating that they can be open about their gender identity and still be accepted and involved in the poker scene."

Cuervo also discussed her encounter with the one tournament that has been the subject of gender-related headlines in the past:

"I participated in the Ladies Event at the WSOP, and it was a fairly positive experience. I walked up to the registration window, presented my identification, and the lady remarked, 'Cool. I will give you $1,000.' Of course, the entry fee for a male is $10,000, so there were no concerns there."

Although this is excellent news for June, previous years have seen attempts to mock the event – and gender in general – with Shaun Deeb among those who "gatecrash" dressed in drag.

Deeb appeared in 2010 with many other men, some ostensibly in dissent, others having lost "prop bets." Dressed in a pink gown, Deeb stated he planned to give any winnings to women's organisations but did not cash in.

Another participant that year, David Sesso, declared later:

"I apologise to everyone I upset and promise to never participate in another ladies' event."

Conversely, back to the matter at hand on Twitter, poker professional Tim Reilly had a somewhat different perspective on the Glantz gender controversy.

This is a stupid take and deducts from the real argument that XY and XX gender should be segregated. If you want to identity as The Wizard of Oz go ahead but poker is a game of the mind and rankings shouldn’t be segregated.

— Tim Reilly 🇺🇸 (@TimReillyPoker) April 10, 2022