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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

Justin Ellis

Illustration of a father looking surprised at a baby on a changing table, surrounded by a pile of laundry and a vacuum cleaner.

Dadfector

No One Can Tell You How To Dad

<p>A. Andrews is a thirty-something disabled queer/trans writer and illustrator. They spent the majority of their young life sketching in hospitals and experienced their first heartbreak at age 8 during Game 6 of the &#8217;96 NBA championships. When they aren’t writing and drawing their guts out, they’re hanging with their dog, George, and drinking too many coffees. They will probably never tell you “what’s <em>wrong</em> with [them]” and you shouldn’t ask! They were named one of <em>The Advocate</em>&#8216;s 2021 People of the Year, are a 2020 Tin House Summer Workshop scholar, and their debut graphic novel, <em>A Quick and Easy Guide to Sex &amp; Disability</em> topped 2020 lists for the NYPL best books for teens, and YALSA&#8217;s best books for teens, and is available anywhere books are sold. You can find more of their work at <em>Washington Post</em>, <em>Esquire</em>, the Nib, and other fun corners of the internet.</p>


A. Andrews

Art of a person seen from behind wearing a hoodie and shorts, with tattoos on their legs, in the process of lifting a barbell

Life Lessons

Lost And Found At The Weight Machines

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A black Coach purse alongside purse restoration tools on a table.

A Purse For Whatever Woman You Want To Be

Ray Ratto

A page from a 1939 mens clothing catalog for Fred Mueller with illustrations of men wearing colorful western-style shirts.

The One Easy Trick For Adding Color To Your Wardrobe


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

a grid of ultrasound images of my (now former) breasts may they RIP!

Even Good Health Insurance Is Bad; Or, How I Got Top Surgery With A Family History Of Breast Cancer

Kelsey McKinney

A photo of the painting Lady at the Piano' by Felix Valloton, from 1904.

Learning To Play Piano When There Is No Recital

Soraya Roberts

The Patti Smith Group pose for portraits, (L-R) Lenny Kaye, Richard Sohl, Patti Smith, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty, in May 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Make Space For The Artist

Patrick Redford

Photo of two pages of an Italian illustrated chess manual from the 15th century, located at the Gorizia, Fondazione Palazzo Coronini Cronberg

When Your Best Move Is Embracing Loser Mindset

Luis Paez-Pumar

Canada - Montreal circa 1959, man grilling, BBQ with the family

Grilling Is Slowly, So Slowly, Teaching Me How To Be Patient

Lauren Theisen

a woman climbing a gigantic mountain of paperwork with an Id at the top

What’s In A Name? A Lot Of Paperwork, Actually

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 13: Brad Pitt is seen on the set of "Wolves" in Old Howard Beach on February 13, 2023 in New York City.

What Does Dressing My Age Look Like?

Albert Burneko

Life Comes At You Fast

Felix Kent

CAMBRIDGE, MA - AUGUST 30: A gate in front of Harvard Yard at Harvard University on August 30, 2018 (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

How They Keep The Gates

A photo of a white tray full of 13 little syringes, which is sitting on top of an unseen white tray of even more syringes

Into The Woods

I Resent My Accursed Allergy Shots, Unless They Work, In Which Case I Love Them!

<div class="gmail_default">Timothy Faust is a healthcare writer and author of the book <i><a href="http://www.healthjusticenow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.healthjusticenow.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685593699820000&amp;usg=AOvVaw24V19Y2HTPgYkH_EpZ_lgj">Health Justice Now</a></i>. He and his long little dog, Ume, move around a lot.</div>
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Timothy Faust

A drawing of Tim as a kidney vending machine.

You Too Can Donate A Kidney And Still Be A Normal Cool Guy Who Pounds Brewskis

<p>T.M. Brown is a Brooklyn-based writer who has written for <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>The New York Times</em>, and <em>Rolling Stone</em>, as well as the good versions of Deadspin and the <em>Village Voice</em>. He writes the newsletter <a href="https://tedthoughts.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://tedthoughts.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1696431933834000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1vP6E3SoXDsrjiq0Qj9HM5">Is It Supposed to Look Like That?</a></p>


T.M. Brown

Tennis

Surviving Break Point

A Danger sign in front of trees in Yellowstone National Park warns visitors to not approach wildlife.

Do Not Fuck Around With The Woods

The author holding a chestnut she found on the street

Chefector

That’s What I Get For Trying To Honor My Ancestors With Chestnuts I Found On The Street

The Only Depressed Adult At The World’s Largest Indoor Ropes Course

The Cyclone Roller Coaster at Coney Island

Reflections From An Aging Roller Coaster Fanatic

<div>Rick Paulas is a writer in Brooklyn who made <i><a href="http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693673714100000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mdrn4_mwbI7boyzf49u2G">The Lady in Greenpoint</a></i>, a 3-mile walking audio ghost story starting at the Pulaski Bridge, and <i>The Palmer Hotel</i>, a collection of spooky short stories set over a century in a downtown hotel, which has sold out.</div>
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Rick Paulas

An overhead shot of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront area in Brooklyn, New York. Taken from a plane or helicopter or maybe one of those new tall buildings on the waterfront.

I’ll Always Have Rec League Softball, Until I Don’t

Jonquel Jones #35 of the New York Liberty accepts the MVP trophy after the team's 82-63 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 Commissioner's Cup Championship game at Michelob ULTRA Arena on August 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

How A Fat Baseball Ass And Four Lesbians Turned Me Into A Sports Fan

Kathryn Xu

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Computer room and workers ca. 1980. (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)