Report: Partner of 'Dr. V' could take legal action against Grantland

The fallout continues with respect to the controversial story published by Grantland last week, "Dr. V's Magical Putter." Tim Marchman at Deadspin writes that the partner of the deceased Essay Anne Vanderbilt - "Dr. V" - has spoken with an attorney, and they're "gathering information for potential legal action."

Vanderbilt, a transgender woman, had her sexual orientation outed by Grantland's Caleb Hannan, who wrote the piece in question. She committed suicide in October. 

Marchman's piece is another interesting read and is worth your time:

"That sudden progression of events, from a willingness to talk to the invocation of an attorney and lawsuits, more or less recapitulates the reaction to 'Dr. V's Magical Putter,' a story that ran on Grantland last week. It was initially met with praise, [on Deadspin] and elsewhere, as a fascinating trip into a vortex of weird science that started with the nearly magical properties of a golf putter and ended with the suicide of Vanderbilt, an inventor who along the way had been revealed to be a possible con carrying fraudulent credentials, as well as a transgender woman. After Shakesville's Melissa McEwan wrote about it, the piece came in for closer scrutiny, under which it was clear that writer Caleb Hannan and Grantland had made serious, avoidable mistakes that may have played a role in Vanderbilt's decision to take her life."

Marchman details "several basic points on which nearly everyone agrees," and writes that "Hannan crossed an ethical and moral line when he outed Vanderbilt to an investor in Yar Golf." Here's the money quote:

"At some point, if it was to run at all, someone among the many smart people Simmons says read it before then should have realized that the subject was no longer a piece of golf equipment, but a woman's death."

Many have shared their reactions to the story, as well, including Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch, who writes: 

"If I had a Twitter mulligan, I wish I had immediately recognized the pain many felt about outing the subject in the piece (which was clearly wrong), and the impact of the piece on the transgender community. I would have framed my tweets smarter and tried to prompt intelligent discussion on it. I also should have thought more about the ethical issues that popped up before tweeting it out, including if there was a written or verbal agreement that the author would only write about the science of the putter and not Dr V's personal background. I think I was so enthralled by the reporting and whodunit aspect of the tale -- and the skill of a talented journalist -- that I failed to recognize some vital issues about the piece."

Journalism professor Jay Rosen, who's now also an advisor to Pierre Omidyar's First Look Media, weighed in, too:

To read Simmons' letter, in which he acknowledges Grantland's "massive mistake," and to read a powerful editorial from Christina Kahrl on the mistakes Grantland made in publishing Hannan's story, read the post below.