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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.

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Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor in Queens, New York. They wrote <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1763134080975000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15Dx3xf4fCxIqYQnD4bF_R">Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes</a>. Their next book, the biography Finding Renée Richards, is due out in August 2026. Kliegman’s work has also appeared in outlets including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, Bookforum, Slate, The Ringer, Texas Monthly, Vulture, BuzzFeed News, and The Verge.

Julie Kliegman

art of a swimmer with their head half above water

Swimming

What Does A Great Trans Athlete Deserve?

Tom Ley

Hannah Hidalgo #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish takes the court before a game against the Chicago State Cougars at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on November 9, 2025 in South Bend, Indiana.

College Basketball

It Should Be Illegal To Unleash Hannah Hidalgo On The Akron Zips

Mark Asch

Arts And Culture

‘Bugonia’ Makes A Crash Landing

Giri Nathan

From left, American real estate developer Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Politics

Newly Released Jeffrey Epstein Emails Claim That Donald Trump “Knew About The Girls”

Patrick Redford

DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 10: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at American Airlines Center on November 10, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. 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 Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

This Is Not The Start Cooper Flagg Wanted

Lauren Theisen

San Jose Sharks forward Collin Graf (51) beats Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson (32) for the game-winning goal

The Sharks Smell Blood

Podcasts

A Brief Tour Through The Bad Parts Of The NBA, With Ock Sportello

Am I A Bug To You?

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

Who Said Malala Doesn’t Like To Gossip?

Veronica de Souza

Make It Nice

Make It Nice: How Much Can One Room Do?

Ray Ratto

Przemyslaw Adam Frankowski (29) of Galatasaray receives yellow card during Turkish Super Lig week 33 football match between ikas Eyupspor and Galatasaray at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium in Istanbul, Turkiye on April 27, 2025.

Gambling

Turkish Soccer Is Eating America’s Lunch When It Comes To Gambling Suspensions

<a href="http://www.ddavisla.com">David Davis </a>is the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation and Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. He lives in Los Angeles.
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David Davis

Marty Reisman, holder of 18 International and US National table tennis titles, and author of the 1974 book "The Money Player" in which he described his life traveling the world, playing high-stakes matches. Reisman won the 1997 United States National Hardbat championship. Now at age 77, he is probably the oldest person ever to win an open US national title in a racquet sport. (Photo by Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images)

Table Tennis

The Real Marty Supreme

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

(GERMANY OUT) Scrabble game, board with the term HILFE (help) and figures

Funbag

Big Words Are Big Fun

Kelsey McKinney

oscar isaac as frankenstein gazes up at his creature on a cross

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ Is Flawed Because His Creature Is Not

Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers carries the puck in the offensive zone

Connor McDavid Broke The Blue Jackets

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Nico Harrison Is Toast

Louisiana State Tigers head coach Brian Kelly yells to an official during a game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Louisiana State Tigers, October 18, 2025.

College Football

There Is No One To Cheer For In The Case Of Brian Kelly v. LSU

Luis Paez-Pumar

Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Miami Heat dunks the ball in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center on November 10, 2025 in Miami, Florida.

The Heat And Cavs Played The Wildest Eight Seconds Of The Season

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

A pack of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex.

Creaturefector

Let Us Now Celebrate Our Extinct Short King, Nanotyrannus

Israel Daramola

In ‘Die My Love,’ Motherhood Is A Mad Mad Mad World

Albert Burneko

First issues of The New Yorker with a caricature cover of Eustace Tilley drawn by Rea Irvin, are displayed at the "Covering The New Yorker" exhibition to commemorate the magazine’s 100th anniversary.

Everybody Stand Down: New Yorker Columnist’s Child Doesn’t Care About Sports Gambling

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan celebrates with the Billie Jean King Trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals.

Tennis

Elena Rybakina Reigned Over A Tour That Suspended Her Coach For Abuse

Kings head coach Doug Christie looking confused.

The Kings Are An Abomination

Brian Daboll of the New York Giants stands on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, November 9, 2025. It's snowing and he looks kind of frustrated.

The New York Giants Finally Saw Enough From Brian Daboll

Deion Sanders sitting at a table during a press conference.