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

Dave McKenna

U.S. President Donald Trump looks at (L-R) golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque as he speaks during an executive order signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump signed a series of orders that will expand on his council on sports, fitness and nutrition, including by reviving the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools.

Report: Harrison Butker’s PAC Coffers Are As Empty As His Head

Tom Ley

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Sky during the first half at the United Center on July 27, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. 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.

Media Meltdowns

Wall Street Journal Calls For Congressional Investigation Into Caitlin Clark Getting Fouled

<p>Maggie Mertens is a freelance journalist in Seattle, and the author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean=9781643753355" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean%3D9781643753355&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qsnDemLKZppvFS2kpVCTH">BETTER FASTER FARTHER: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women</a>. She also sometimes writes and sends the newsletters <a href="https://maggiemertens.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://maggiemertens.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lAUeT18_qV95dy9jg9Sg0">My So-Called Feminist Life</a> and <a href="https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hLBDLFWCAWpJsqvPzljRr">Gilmore Women</a>.</p>
<div></div>


Maggie Mertens

High School Sports

Minnesota Softball Has A Title IX Problem

Brandy Jensen

The front of the New York Times building on 8th Avenue during sunset

Journalismism

The New York Times Clarifies That A Starving Child In Gaza Also Needs Medical Care

Ray Ratto

Washington Commanders logo displayed on a phone screen and photo of Donald Trump taken on June 25 in The Hague displayed on a laptop screen in the background. It's a photo illustration.

Donald Trump Is Trying To Extort The Washington Commanders Into Making It 1989 Again

<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

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.

Collective Amnesia

Bills Week

William F. Buckley’s Bill Never Came Due

What Are The Epstein Files, And How Much Should You Care About Them?

<p><a href="http://pjmaciak.substack.com">Phillip Maciak</a> is the TV critic at <em>The New Republic</em> and the author of <em>Avidly Reads Screen Time</em>. He&#8217;s working on a book about dad culture.</p>


Phillip Maciak

Cultural Capitulation

Barry Petchesky

The Space Shuttle Discovery, aboard a specially modified NASA Boeing 747, flies over the Washington, DC, April 17, 2012, as seen from Arlington, Virginia. NASA is transferring the Shuttle, which completed 39 missions and spent 365 days in space, to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo by Saul LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The “Big Beautiful Bill” Is Trying To Steal A Space Shuttle


<div id=":2fi" class="ii gt adO">
<div id=":2ee" class="a3s aiL ">
<div id="avWBGd-876">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Hallie Lieberman is a historian and journalist. Her book <em>Gigolos: An Exploration of the Men Who Sell Sex and The Women Who Buy It</em> will be published by Beacon Press in January 2027. She is also the author of <em>Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy</em>. Her writing has appeared in <em>Esquire</em>, <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>The Washington Post</em>, and other outlets. </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id=":2gy" class="hq gt "> </div>


Hallie Lieberman

President Donald Trump delivers remarks before signing the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the East Room at the White House on February 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. The executive order, which Trump signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sports and is the third order he has signed that targets transgender people.

Politics

How Trans Prisoners Are Dealing With The Trump Administration’s Attacks

Albert Burneko

Elon Musk account on X displayed on a phone screen with a Grok header

Elon Musk’s Idiot Chatbot Turns Into An Explicit Nazi

<p>Asher Elbein is <a href="https://www.asherelbein.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.asherelbein.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712179533443000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2CJ0U-vHMdK0s6sOdzlGGF">a journalist and fiction writer</a> based in Austin, Texas. Among other places, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Undark Magazine, Audubon, and Texas Monthly.</p>


Asher Elbein

Why Do Fascists Dream Of Alligators?

Samer Kalaf

The New York Times Had To Work With A Eugenicist So They Didn’t Get Scooped By A Bigot

Kelsey McKinney

The Floodwaters Are Rising

Donald Trump looks up at the new flag on the south lawn of the White House on July 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Totally Petty

U.S. Vice President JD Vance shows off his shamrock themed socks as he delivers remarks at a St. Patrick's Day breakfast for Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the vice president's residence on March 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. Martin is visiting the United States for the Irish leader's annual St. Patrick's Day visit where he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and attend a St. Patrick's Day lunch with congressional leaders.

Life's Rich Pageant

Is JD Vance Irish? Be Careful Who You Ask

Kirsten Gillibrand Has A Racist Meltdown Over Zohran Mamdani On Public Radio

New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) (L) is joined by fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander during an election night gathering

The Politics Of Fear Don’t Work Against A Candidate Who Isn’t Scared


<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

David Roth

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo addresses the media following a speech at an event for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on June 22, 2025 in New York City.

Andrew Cuomo Is A Future Of The Democratic Party

Masked federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on June 18, 2025 in New York City. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), NYC Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander and Council Member Alexa Avilés visited immigration courts to watch proceedings a day after NYC Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents while accompanying a person out of a courtroom as people continue to be detained following immigration court hearings.

No Time For Theatrics

<p>Alex Shultz is a journalist based in Brooklyn. He&#8217;s a writer for <a href="https://www.hardresetmedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hardresetmedia.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1763581679564000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07bi0TNndgTXDN2QH72s3J">Hard Reset,</a> a newsletter about tech, labor, and power.</p>


Alex Shultz

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks to press after voting on the nomination of Michael Duffey to be Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on June 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. Senators returned to Capitol Hill on Monday after the Memorial Day Holiday recess.

Nobody Wants To Talk About John Fetterman And Buzz Bissinger’s Pricey Memoir Project

Israel Daramola

Photo from the No Kings protest in Los Angeles.

So What Is It Gonna Take?

<p>Joe Flynn is a writer based in the D.C. area.</p>


Joe Flynn

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks. He looks like a photographic negative and is grimacing. Skin the color of a hot dog.