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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

Media Meltdowns

Bigots Need Their Useful Idiots

Ray Ratto

Sideline reporter Pam Oliver interviews head coach Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans at halftime against the San Francisco 49ers at Nissan Stadium on December 23, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Scourge Of In-Game Coach Interviews Spreads To The NFL

Albert Burneko

The New York Times building is seen on September 6, 2018 in New York. - A furious Donald Trump called September 5, 2018 for the unmasking of an anonymous senior official who wrote in the New York Times that top members of his administration were undermining the president to curb his "misguided impulses." Trump asked if the unsigned op-ed could be considered treasonous, assailed the newspaper for the "gutless" piece and questioned whether the senior official it was attributed to actually existed. "TREASON?" Trump posted in response to the article entitled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," which claimed the president's own staff see him as a danger to the nation."Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Journalismism

Why Did The New York Times Delete A Notorious Fraudster’s Election Take?

Thom Brennaman Pitied Himself Back Into The Broadcast Booth

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

US President Joe Biden speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (out of frame) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024.

Margin Of Error

What’s The Story With Joe Biden?

Donald Trump and Joe Biden, looking like a couple of brain-ruined old mummies during their presidential debate.

Debate Losers

David Roth

Al Michaels looks at an iPhone prior to the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau on November 17, 2022.

AI Is Now Advanced Enough To Blow Al Michaels’s Mind

Patrick Redford

Lalas confusing and infuriating Daniel Sturridge

Soccer

Love Him Or Hate Him, Alexi Lalas Stinks At His Job

Arts And Culture

Appalling Errors In Vulture’s Ranked List Of Muppets Movies, Ranked

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever talks to the media before the game against the Washington Mystics at Capital One Arena on June 07, 2024 in Washington, DC.

WNBA

The Olympic Roster Is Not Just A Marketing Tool

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)

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

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A photo showing an ear bud resting on the screen of a smartphone showing the Spotify music app.

Capital

If You Love Podcasts, Dump Spotify

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 21: Michael Jordan signed Sports Illustrated cover is on display during a press preview of The Olympic Collection at Sotheby's on July 21, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

Sports Illustrated Owner Sues Former Publisher Over Bungled Leverage Play

Rose Lobelson, Communications Associate at Sotheby's, points to an image of the Sports Illustrated cover of Wilt Chamberlain in his 'Championship Clinching' 1972 NBA Final jersey, with bandaged-hands after he broke a hand, at Sotheby's Auction House in Beverly Hills, California, on August 1, 2023. The jersey is estimated at $4 million.

Sports Illustrated May Yet Live

G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller speaking at a conference with one of those microphones you wear on your ear.

Jim Spanfeller Is A Third-Rate Parasite

Samer Kalaf

Second Iteration Of Deadspin Now Also Dead

Start of the race 16 Charles Leclerc of Monaco, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23 - Ferrari, action 04 Lando Norris of United Kingdom, Mclaren Formula 1 Team, MCL60 - Mercedes, action during the Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix of FIA Formula One World Championship from 19th to 22th of October, 2023 on the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, United States of America. (Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Road & Track EIC Tries To Explain Why He Deleted An Article About Formula 1 Power Dynamics

In this photograph a group of townsfolk descend on a disciple after it was discovered that the ritual he participated in left a person dead during an Epoch Event in Toronto on August 6, 2011

Fantasy Convention

Several YouTube screenshots of a screeching JJ Redick

NBA Dead Period Filled By JJ Redick Reacting To Himself Blasting Doc Rivers

An exterior view of Cleveland Browns Stadium prior to the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals on September 10, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Iconic And Brave: Plain Dealer Editor Decided Not To Report Some News About The Browns

The OpenAI logo is being displayed on a smartphone, with the Microsoft logo visible on the screen in the background.

Semafor’s AI Partnership Is The Same Old Shit

Dave McKenna

A screenshot of Ross Levinsohn standing at a lectern. He's speaking at the University of Colorado. A giant poster of an SI cover with Deion Sanders on it is behind him.

Debating The Finer Points Of Nepotism With Ex-SI Boss Ross Levinsohn

Jeff Pearlman’s Advice To Young Sportswriters: Simply Write A Book About LeBron James And Kobe Bryant

October 16, 1972 Sports Illustrated cover and signed limited edition Wilt Chamberlain sports porcelain figurine on display during the press preview at Sotheby's Auction House on August 01, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Here It Is: One More Obit For Sports Illustrated

A photo of Liz Patrick with her Emmy Award, and with Lee Corso's face clumsily pasted on top of hers.