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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

Kathryn Xu

Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on after a crash during the first lap of the race during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.

Racing

There Are No Easy Solutions For The Second-Driver Conundrum

Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, The Other Olympians, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.

Michael Waters

Helen Stephens running in the 1936 Olympics

Olympics

Olympian Helen Stephens Suffered Through An Anti-Queer Panic That Still Reverberates

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.

Owen Lewis

Tennis

Suffering Pigeons All Over At Roland-Garros

Patrick Redford

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 27: JJ Redick #17 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket against LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Lakers’ Pursuit Of JJ Redick Keeps Getting Funnier

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 20: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers looks on after a fight against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 20, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's kind of holding hands with the ref that's carting him away

Matthew Tkachuk Is My Beloved American Girl Doll

Lauren Theisen

Television video and still camera lenses are seen in centerfield as the sun sets behind home plate

Which Broadcast Has The Best View In Baseball?

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Podcasts

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Horny

Ray Ratto

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 7: Jontay Porter #34 of the Toronto Raptors arrives to the arena before the game against the Phoenix Suns on March 7, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)

Gambling

How The Fix Gets In

David Roth

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Stanford Business, Government, and Society Forum at Stanford University in April of 2024.

The Machines

Google’s Got Nothing But Wrong Answers

Members of the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) held a parade through Chinatown to protest against the Communist Party of China in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 19, 2023. The Communist Party of China has allegedly tried to wipe out Falun Gong with torture and violence because of their beliefs. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that brings together meditation, energy exercises and moral teachings as a means to cultivating the mind and body towards enlightenment. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto)

Media Meltdowns

Feds Accuse America’s Weirdest Media Company Of Being A Money-Laundering Front For The Falun Gong

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

MLB Makes A Convenient Example Of Several Gambling Bozos

<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">Corbin Smith is a writer and photographer from Vancouver, Washington. His work has appeared in Deadspin, The Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222">The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</a> a podcast about movies.</div>
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Corbin Smith

People riding bikes around in a very small loop at the Ladd's 500 relay in Portland, Oregon.

Life's Rich Pageant

The Beauty And Boredom Of 500 Laps Around The Same .148-Mile Loop

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

06/08/12 - Midland Park, NJ - A supermarket shelf at a Kings Food Market in Midland Park, New Jersey filled mostly with Frito-Lay brands of chips.

Funbag

Mixing Chip Flavors Is A Dangerous Game

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Creaturefector

Why The Matador Bug Is A Walking Red Flag

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Elizabeth Cambage of Sichuan reacts during Game 5 of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association WCBA league Finals between Sichuan and Inner Mongolia in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 22, 2024.

WNBA

Only One Person Can Save Us From Terrible WNBA Takes

Jake Oettinger during pregame introductions

The Stars Crashed Down To Earth

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

A photo of the baseball field and the scoreboard at Meji Jingu Baseball Stadium stadium in Tokyo. The night sky is a dark blue and, despite the rain, the outfield seats still hold a good number of fans. There's also a runner on second base.

The Key To Having Fun At A Baseball Game Is Flying To The Other Side Of The World

Giri Nathan

Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka are competing during Roland Garros 2024 in Paris, France, on May 29, 2024. (Photo by Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto)

Let Us Consider The French Open’s Thrilling, Waterlogged First Week

A Sunday Night With The Caitlin Casuals

Albert Burneko

The Great Outdoors

Garden Check!

The White Sox Are Ready To Kick Someone’s Ass, Just Not At Baseball

Ruairí McCann

Still image from the movie The Canticle of the Stones.

Defector At The Movies

‘Canticle Of The Stones’ Grapples With The Difficulty Of Artistic Representation Inside Occupied Palestine

Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the San Diego Padres bunts during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Petco Park on May 26, 2024 in San Diego, California

Crosswords

The Crossword, June 3: Tight Ends

Lorenzo Musetti stretches to play a backhand

Don’t Cry For Lorenzo Musetti

Barry Petchesky

EDMONTON, CANADA - JUNE 02: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his first-period goal against the Dallas Stars in Game Six of the Western Conference Final of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on June 2, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)