CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Capital

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

The Machines

Politics

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

Tom Ley

(L-R) Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, and musician Michael Bolton pose for a portrait during a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Jeffrey Epstein’s Inbox Was A Place To Complain, Talk Shit, And Make Boomer-Grade Jokes

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

Jeffrey Epstein and Alan Dershowitz discuss something.

Jeffrey Epstein Was The Unofficial Advice Columnist For The Elites

Alex Sujong Laughlin

The Bad News Is There’s No More Money, But That’s Also The Good News

Tech leaders, including Sam Altman (C), CEO of OpenAI, and Tim Cook (2nd L), CEO of Apple, attend a dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 4, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

An Evening With Sam Altman And Steve Kerr

A detailed view of a hand holding a Fanduel Sports Network–branded microphone during an interview after the Detroit Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics on February 26, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.

Gambling

The NBA Media Is Not Built To Cover A Gambling Scandal

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle, Washington, on April 30, 2024. Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced today to four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating laws against money laundering. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)

Donald Trump’s Crypto Corruption Machine Is Whirring Along At A Stunning Pace

Albert Burneko

Soon ChatGPT Will Be Able To Botch Math Problems And Encourage Self-Harm… In A Sexy Way

Kelsey McKinney

Taylor Swift on the red carpet wearing a red dress with winged eyeliner and looking out of the corner of her eye at the camera

Arts And Culture

No Good Art Comes From Greed

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: The Free Press' Honestly with Bari Weiss (pictured) hosts Senator Ted Cruz presented by Uber and X on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Signs Huge Deal To Usher CBS News Into Its Vichy Era

Donald Trump makes a face in the Oval Office.

Treasury Department Has Plans To Mint Dollar Coin Featuring Donald Trump’s Likeness

<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 <em>Rolling Stone</em>. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222"><em>The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</em></a> a podcast about movies.</div>
</div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>


Corbin Smith

A booth at The Materials Show in Portland, Ore. in February of 2025. It's an empty couple of tables with a big banner behind it with the word BLOOM on it and some stuff about sustainability.

The Future Of The Sneaker Business First Requires A Future


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Modell’s Sporting Goods, logo in Queens borough.

SEC: This Ponzi Scheme Involved Buying Modell’s Out Of Bankruptcy

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks as he presents the new Meta Ray-Ban Display at the 2025 Meta Connect conference in Menlo Park, California, on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Benjamin LEGENDRE / AFP)

Mark Zuckerberg Demonstrates That His AI Smart Glasses Suck And Don’t Work

Engraving shows interior of Leiden University library, Netherlands 1610 by Jan Cornelisz Woudanus, approximately 1570-1615.

If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough

Aaron Timms

A view of the park from behind police barriers

Tennis

The U.S. Open Could Be More Than A Fortress For Capital

An Airbus Helicopter H145M of the Hungarian Air Force uses an infrared trap over the Danube River in Budapest during an air show as part of the celebrations marking the Hungarian national day on August 20, 2025. Hungary marks the 1,025th anniversary of the foundation of the Hungarian state, established by the first king of Hungary, Stephen I.

22-Year-Old Has It All Figured Out

Kathryn Xu

(L-R) Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie of BLACKPINK perform onstage at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Mods Asleep

Has The World’s Biggest K-Pop Group Already Come And Gone?

San Antonio Spurs French forward-centre Victor Wembanyama (C) reacts as he attends his event named "Hoop Gambit", a chess and basketball tournament that takes place in his birth town of Le Chesnay, south-west of Paris, on July 20, 2025.

Funbag

OK But What If The Billionaire Is A Cool Guy?

A float for the Cochonou brand in the Tour de France caravan, with spectators reaching out to it as it passes.

Cycling

There Is No Tour de France Without The Tour de Brands

NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell discusses the state of the union and its direction for the upcoming year before fielding questions from the media on February 05, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The NFLPA Is Having Communication Issues

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California-based minor league baseball writer.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

Minor League Baseball: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Austin Hamilton (14) in action, pitching vs San Jose Giants at San Jose Giants Excite Ballpark. San Jose, CA.

Private Equity Now Owns More Than 40 Minor League Baseball Teams, And The Number Keeps Growing

Bill Ackman, Founder and CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management, attends the 28th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 6, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Bill Ackman Gets To Play Pretend In Sanctioned Tennis Farce

A long white mall hallway with empty storefronts and a sign for an AMC movie theater in the distance

A Mall I Loved Is Going Pitch Black


<p>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</p>


Diana Moskovitz

A protester holds a backwards American flag outside of Dodger Stadium during a protest against the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and ICE immigration raids on June 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

The Dodgers Are Disappointing The People Who Want To Love Them The Most

Dave McKenna

A Washington Post logo is displayed on top of the newspaper's editorial headquarters on May 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.