On this point I actually agree with Meerkatx. Although the transgender angle is irrelevant, the falsified credentials are relevant. If she were to say that outside tests on the putter showed the putter to be superior, it might be one thing. But to say it is a superior putter because it was invented by a scientist…

I'm sorry, but if you don't think that lying about your credentials, credentials that are material to your claims about the club are not relevant there is literally nothing anyone can say to you that you won't just refute by claiming it's not relevant.

So someone committing fraud should be let off of the hook? You do know being outted for committing fraud ruins the persons life as well in most cases?

Because that's not journalism.

Ugh, I think you are going to get accused of victim blaming. But I agree with you. The lies were pretty ridiculous.

Pretty much. If you have a secret that you really need to stay secret, perhaps don't pretend to be a Vanderbilt who studied at MIT and socializes with Dan Quayle and helped design the B-2 bomber. If Dr. V had said "this is an awesome putter I designed, I can show you how it works, and I'm a mechanic," none of this…

Can we all please agree that being Trans had nothing to do with false credentials? Being trans is living a TRUTH not a lie.

It's disturbing to me that so many Jez readers don't get that yet.

I seriously cannot believe the number of people who think this was ok because she lied about other things. The reporter clearly has zero idea about trans issues. Absolute disrespect on so many levels.

Couldn't he have just reported that her credentials were fraudulent? I don't understand what her being trans has anything to do with golf, the club, or her lying about her education and experience. It feels like the reporter only included it because he thought it made it more interesting and would get more people to…

As to the first point: it's still fraud. If I build a better mousetrap in my garage and want to get investors, I can't say "I'm a mousetrap engineer with 18 years' experience coming up with ways to kill household vermin efficiently" when I'm actually a housewife with an education in the humanities who happened to…

If the person is using their credentials and work history as part of the marketing for the product then their background is absolutely relevant.

I work in a facility that does reliability testing for engineering firms. For a while, we had a trans woman who came in periodically for testing. The way my co-workers and our other clients treated her and talked about her behind her back was heartbreaking. I stood up for her whenever their awfulness was within my…

Yeah, but I bet one of the selling points of that club was the degrees that she claimed to have. You don't lie about having a degree from MIT for nothing. When you say, "Look, I'm qualified to say that this putter is good and science backs me up," adding that you have a degree from MIT gives you credibility. If she'd…

She had already been outed?

Heartless mother fucker.

I don't want to read through the story again, but there was a part where the reporter went to Dr. V's associates, telling them basically that she used to be a man and asking how they felt about it.

...Was it 'just to see people's reactions?'

Judging by his Twitter account, he thinks it's a big joke.

It's kind of tactless for a reporter to go around sharing personal secrets just to see people's reactions, especially those of someone who is not a public figure and didn't want to be.

The fact that he tried to qualify the suicide, tells me he feels some guilt.