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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Tom Ley

We’ve Got A Whole Jaylen Brown Situation On Our Hands

Dave McKenna

Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne of Dublin goes highest to win possession during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Galway.

Gaelic Football

Dublin Pulls Off Comeback To Beat Galway In All-Ireland Quarterfinal

Xander Zayas throws a punch at Jaron 'Boots' Ennis during their WBO and WBA World Super-Welterweight title bout.

The Fights

Boots Ennis KOs Zayas In Brooklyn Thriller

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever passes the ball during the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 24, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

WNBA

Don’t Let Bored Football Fans Tell The Story Of Caitlin Clark’s Season

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

Oakland Raiders running back Doug Martin (28) warms up before the game against the Oakland Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals on December 16th 2018, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH.

Lawsuit: Death Of Doug Martin Caused By Negligence From Police, Paramedics

Israel Daramola

Music

How Jay-Z Changed Rap With ‘Reasonable Doubt’

Ray Ratto

Ernie Clement #22 of the Toronto Blue Jays smiles ahead of playing against the Philadelphia Phillies in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 9, 2026 in Toronto, Canada.

The People Have Spoken: Ernie Clement Is The Best Player In The American League Now

Sarah Borus

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on the field before a game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets

What Does It Mean To “Stand Up For Buffalo”?

Corley Miller

Arts And Culture

Left In The Dungeon

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Tom Dundon at a Blazers press conference.

Tom Dundon Cares Not One Bit About The Portland Trail Blazers

Marina Mabrey smiles during her game against the LA Sparks

Marina Mabrey Got 53 The Fun Way

A founding member of the Billings, Montana-to-Brooklyn sportswriting pipeline, Patrick Sauer has written for many large digital publications you’ve heard of and even more smaller ones that no longer exist. Check out his work at <a href="http://patricksauer.contently.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://patricksauer.contently.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1782568830003000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2lJRPIa8YxoLI3taZ9zsro">patricksauer.contently.com</a> or follow him on Bluesky <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pjsauer.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bsky.app/profile/pjsauer.bsky.social&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1782568830003000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pDFKunGJ4lkfhBy4EMrEt">@pjsauer.bsky.social</a>.

Patrick Sauer

Horse Racing

A Final Day At Aqueduct, New York’s Forlorn And Forgotten Racetrack

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

a photo of a brown edible robot shaped like a rectangle with arms and two black eyespots

Science

Would You Eat This Guy? What If He Were God, Or A Baby?

David Roth

Melanie and Corey "explore a new connection" in the 6/23/26 episode of Love Island. It's two hot people sitting on a couch.

Podcasts

Folkways Of The Contemporary Sex Idiot, With Kelsey McKinney And Alex Sujong Laughlin

Patrick Redford

The Athletics Are An Abomination

Defector Staff

two hot people kiss while a dozen hot men sit on bean bags in the background and clap

What Do We Think About This Season Of ‘Love Island USA’?

Mark Vientos of the New York Mets reacts after a ninth inning error against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field on June 24, 2026 in New York City.

What I Learned Watching The Mets Make Six Errors In A 10-5 Loss

Giri Nathan

LaMelo Ball #1 of the Charlotte Hornets reacts to a three-point basket during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets

LaMelo Ball Is Headed To Minnesota, Hopefully Not In His Car

Luis Paez-Pumar

Vinícius Júnior of Brazil celebrates his goal with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Scotland and Brazil at Miami Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Miami Gardens, United States.

Soccer

Vinícius Has Brazil Believing Again

Lions Cornerback Terrion Arnold Arrested On Kidnapping And Robbery Charges

Emily C. Hughes

Diabolical Motherhood

Kathryn Xu

Nico O'Reilly #3 and Harry Kane #9 of England react after a missed chance during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match between England and Ghana.

What On Earth Is “Match Momentum”?

Séamus Malekafzali is a New York-based journalist and writer primarily focusing on the politics of the Middle East.

Séamus Malekafzali

Iranian fans protest outside the Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between Belgium and Iran

The Monarchists Have Come To Harangue Iran’s World Cup Team

Brandy Jensen

A world cup fan holds a sign soliciting tickets