Capital

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

The Machines

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

<div id="1695913206.579009" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913206.579009">
<div class="c-message_kit__background c-message_kit__background--hovered p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover c-message_kit__hover--hovered" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__indent">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text c-message_kit__blocks--inline">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text c-message__message_blocks--inline" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer p-block_kit_renderer--inline" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block p-rich_text_block--inline" dir="auto">
<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>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1695913224.677889" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913224.677889">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Tom Scocca

A male blue jay, perched on a branch with green foliage in the fore- and background.

The Omens Are Bad

Samer Kalaf

Journalismism

The New York Times’ David Leonhardt Turns In A Nasty Piece Of Work

Albert Burneko

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE - JANUARY 17: Republican presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at LaBelle Winery on January 17, 2024 in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. DeSantis, who finished second behind frontrunner, former U.S. President Donald Trump in this week's Iowa caucuses, is campaigning in New Hampshire ahead of that state's primary on January 23 before moving on to South Carolina on Friday. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Politics

Nation Rejects Sweaty Pig

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

The Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, MA on October 25, 2021.

What Comes After The Post-Crisis Reading List?


<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

Mary Lou Retton signs a Wheaties box in 2003. By her side is her longtime coach, Bela Karolyi

Gymnastics

Mary Lou Retton’s Third Act Is Her Most All-American

Justin Ellis

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaking at Healing for Heroes Gala in Brooklyn, in front of a painting of himself

This Is So Stupid

Whodunit! Unmasking The Author Of Eric Adams’s Self-Published Book

David Roth

Investor Bill Ackman, wearing one of those goofy headsets you can rent that play the radio broadcast, watches Emma Radacanu play at the 2021 U.S. Open in Queens, NY.

Hiding And Seeking With The New York Times

Tom Ley

New York Mayor Eric Adams gives a thumbs up as he leaves his weekly press conference at New York City Hall on November 14, 2023. FBI agents seized the New York mayor's cell phones and other devices, his campaign lawyer said 10 November, 2023, in an apparent escalation of a federal investigation into campaign fundraising. The seizure appears to be part of a corruption investigation into whether Eric Adams' 2021 campaign conspired with Turkey's government and others.

Eric Adams: The Beauty Of New York Is That There Are Terrorist Attacks And Also Stores That Open

Palestinians carry a list of Gaza victims during a rally amid a general strike in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian Suffering Is Never As Urgent As The Counterfactual

Dave McKenna

A close up of Conor McGregor yelling during the filming of the TV show The Ultimate Fighter in March 2023

The Fights

Conor McGregor And The Politics Of Mean

Ron DeSantis poses with a supporter, or anyway with a guy in a baseball hat, in Newton, Iowa in December of 2023. He is smiling in a very unsettling way.

What Puts A Smile On Ron DeSantis’s Face?

Henry Kissinger looking like a little goblin while watching a Yankees fan

Yankees Honor Least Evil Fan

Amos Barshad

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. A grand jury today handed up an indictment naming former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies over an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Who Does The RICO Case Against Young Thug Actually Serve?

Premature babies are moved from their incubators to another location at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Hamas Will Be Anywhere That Israel Wants It To Be

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott standing onstage, all very normally, at a GOP primary debate in Miami.

These Debates Don’t Matter

Palestinians in Gaza carry bodies through the street

Bearing Witness To Gaza’s Grief Shouldn’t Feel Like A Radical Act

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


Sabrina Imbler

People carry injured and dead Palestinians from the rubbles of buildings as civil defense teams and civilians conduct search and rescue operations after Israeli attacks on Al-Shati refugee camp of Gaza City, Gaza on October 27, 2023 as Israeli attacks continue on the 21st day on Gaza

Science

Who Is Allowed To Do Science?

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gather as they demonstrate against Israeli war on Gaza calling for a ceasefire at Sergelstorg Square in Stockholm, Sweden, October 22, 2023.

What Happens After The Rally Ends?

A man carries a child, wounded by Israeli airstrikes, into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City

Subjugation And Dehumanization Lead To Only One Result

Ray Ratto

Steve Garvey, in the foreground, at his induction into the Legends of Dodgers Baseball inaugural class back in September of 2018. He's got sunglasses on and is clapping.

Nobody Wants Senator Steve Garvey

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


Chris Thompson

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at the Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal on September 29, 2023 in Long Beach, California. DeSantis is scheduled to speak at the California Republican Party Fall Convention in Anaheim, California later today.

Is Ron DeSantis Wearing Hidden Platform Heels Inside His Stupid Ugly Boots? An Investigation

The animals from Paw Patrol, or more accurately people wearing costumes of the animals from Paw Patrol, waving at the Paris premiere of the Paw Patrol movie.

Caitlin Flanagan’s Wheels Are Spinning A Little Too Fast

<p>Micah Herskind is an organizer, policy advocate, and writer based in Atlanta, GA.</p>


Micah Herskind

Environmental activists hold a rally and a march through the Atlanta Forest, a preserved forest Atlanta that is scheduled to be developed as a police training center, March 4, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Intent upon stopping the building of what they have called cop city, the environmentalists were evicted from the forest in January, resulting in the killing by police of Manuel Teran, a young activist and medic.

The Stop Cop City Indictment Is An Act Of Desperation

Moron Pushing Petition To Rename Commanders Has Long History Of Being A Moron

Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON - MARCH 08: US Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas testifies before the House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on Capitol Hill March 8, 2007 in Washington, DC. Thomas and fellow Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke about concerns with the ongoing remodeling of the court building, the reduction of paperwork due to electronic media and the disparity of pay between federal judges and lawyers working in the private sector. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Clarence Thomas