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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

Luis Paez-Pumar

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) and United States of America President Donald Trump (R) look on following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, United States.

Soccer

Gianni Infantino Is Putting The World Cup Up For Sale


<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 detail of a Title IX logo on a basketball is seen before the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.

Politics

Is The Right’s Next Project Make Women’s Sports Girly Again?

Sohini Desai

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller (L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio before addressing the audience

Eventually Everyone Will Be Called A Terrorist

David Roth

President Donald Trump holds up a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey as he hosted 2025 World Series champions in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 23, 2026 in Washington, DC.

The Dodgers Went To Grandpa’s House!

Charlotte Rosen

Books

How Cops Consolidated So Much Power Over Local Governments

Tom Ley

FIFA President Gianni Infantino directs U.S. President Donald Trump after the team’s victory following during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina

Looking Good, Sir!

Albert Burneko

People stand at the scene of an ICE shooting that killed a man on July 13, 2026.

ICE Brings The Occupation Home

Dave McKenna

General views around Madison Square Garden on June 30, 2026 in New York City.

James Dolan Sues Wired Magazine For Writing A Story About His Shitty Ways

Dinaw Mengestu speaks onstage during the 2026 PEN America Spring Literary Gala at American Museum of Natural History

Arts And Culture

PEN America’s “Silent Moratorium” Prompts Very Loud Criticism

<p>Hassan Abo Qamar is a writer based in Gaza.</p>


Hassan Abo Qamar

Palestinian football fans displaced from their homes, which were destroyed by Israeli military strikes, watch Belgium vs. Egypt on a giant screen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.

What It’s Like To Watch The World Cup From Gaza

Lindsey Graham gives a double thumbs up in front of an Israeli flag

Journalismism

Atlantic Writer: I Will Always Cherish The Day Lindsey Graham Told Me I Looked Like Shit Mere Hours After A Mass Shooting

Lindsey Graham Dead, World No Worse

A wide shot of the campus of Texas Tech University.

Here’s What Texas Tech’s Leadership Is Being Sued For Censoring

A National Guard officer walks through an emptied out area of The Great American State Fair

Trump’s State Fair Was Ass In All The Ways I’d Been Warned 

Is It Mitch McConnell Or Your Own Sense Of Possibility That Has Been Dead For Weeks?

Sarah Borus

Life's Rich Pageant

America’s Birthday, Brought To You By Gas Station Hoagies

Unlike The Defendants, One Of The Prairieland Judges Is Part Of An Organized Cell Of Extremists

Visitors inspect the exhibitions at the Great American State Fair on June 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Freedom 250-backed Great American State Fair celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Dead Country Fair

<div>John Garrison Marks is a historian and writer who explores how Americans engage with the past. He is the author of <i><a href="https://uncpress.org/9781469693521/thy-will-be-done/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://uncpress.org/9781469693521/thy-will-be-done/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1781017423627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1jL0F6t9RI1FoZYDei0VCw">Thy Will Be Done: George Washington&#8217;s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory</a>.</i> He&#8217;s on Bluesky at <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/johngmarks.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bsky.app/profile/johngmarks.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1781017423627000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0S-WpY5TzWTHvzMhKssu2S">@johngmarks.com</a>.</div>
<div></div>


John Garrison Marks

A drawing of the State of Liberty wearing a bunch of cheaply made America250 merchandise.

“We Hold These Truds”: A Search For The Weirdest Piece Of America 250 Merchandise

A protester supporting transgender athletes competing in women's sports holds a transgender pride flag outside the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026 in Washington, DC. The protestor is wearing a crown similar to the Statue of Liberty.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Bans On Trans Athletes In School Sports

Emily C. Hughes

Diabolical Motherhood

<p>Séamus Malekafzali is a New York-based journalist and writer primarily focusing on the politics of the Middle East.</p>


Séamus Malekafzali

Iranian fans protest outside the Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between Belgium and Iran

The Monarchists Have Come To Harangue Iran’s World Cup Team

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


Chris Thompson

Buster Posey at his stupid press conference.

Putting The “Buster” In Buster Posey

<p>E.Y. Zhao is a writer and editor from St. Louis. Her debut novel, <a href="https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/underspin-9781662603266/"><i>Underspin</i></a>, set in the world of competitive table tennis, is out now. She holds a BA in history from Harvard College and an MFA from the University of Michigan.</p>


E.Y. Zhao

Two Nights Outside ICE’s New Jersey Concentration Camp

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


Sabrina Imbler

Mona Khalil, a Lebanese ecologist activist looks at a turtle at a coast in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre 12 August 2002