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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

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Creaturefector

Freaky Little Plant Propagated By Freaky Little Freaks

Hassan Abo Qamar is a writer based in Gaza.

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.

Soccer

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

Lindsey Adler is a writer based in Brooklyn. She exclusively covered sports for a decade but has other interests, too.

Lindsey Adler

Arts And Culture

Consider The Sister

Drew McQuade

A collage of some of Dan's bootleg T-shirts

Stories

What I Found Sorting Through 1,200 T-Shirts My Son Left Behind

Dave McKenna

An illustration of feet walking over a chalk outline

The Killing That Won’t Let Go

Maya Goldberg-Safir writes about women’s basketball and splits her time between Chicago and Oakland, where she was born and raised. She is the creator of <a href="https://wnbaroughnotes.substack.com/">Rough Notes</a>, a newsletter chronicling women’s basketball from the court, the road, and the heart.

Maya Goldberg-Safir

Women's Basketball

Cardte Hicks Played Above The Rim And Ahead Of Her Time

Defector Staff

Announcements

What We Loved About Dan McQuade

<a href="https://josh-levin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://josh-levin.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2tqysV4T7Gh0gV7M0_bz7p">Josh Levin</a> is the creator and host of the sports history podcast “<a href="http://www.replaybooth.show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.replaybooth.show&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-rpGWGr1dKP0HBTa_zohZ">Replay Booth</a>.” He’s also the author of <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/josh-levin/the-queen/9780316513272//?lens=little-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/josh-levin/the-queen/9780316513272//?lens%3Dlittle-brown&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw357vGVOyJU7dDVIkjqFQxu">The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth</a>, the creator of the podcast “<a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/one-year/s6/1990" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://slate.com/podcasts/one-year/s6/1990&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1LJrco6Xq1YK3vAueOtmRC">One Year</a>,” the host of two seasons of “Slow Burn” (on <a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s4/david-duke" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s4/david-duke&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PiV8w71WaqaTvzDwNTrOS">David Duke</a> and <a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s10/rise-of-fox-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s10/rise-of-fox-news&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1762023504534000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3LTehX3p4ZiFY9vhna8azk">Fox News</a>), and the former cohost of “Hang Up and Listen.”

Josh Levin

Illustration of Mr. Met wearing a deerstalker cap investigating some buttons reading "Huckle."

Wilbur Huckle For President: Solving A 61-Year-Old Mets Mystery

A photo of Mike Lucido having his jersey retired. He's wearing a letterman's jacket and sporting a huuuuge head of hear with massive sideburns. A man in a sweater and tie is handing him a plaque with his name on it and his now retired number, 44.

High School Sports

When A High School Football Legend Was Dying, His Teammates Made Sure He Went Out Like A Star

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Dan McQuade sits in a blue chair, which is big and fake leather-ish, and has big arms on it. He has his head resting on his left arm, which is on the left arm of the chair. He has long light brown hair, a beard cropped to his face, and I dunno I'd say he's pretty handsome, but I am biased as I am the subject of the photo. Dan is wearing a red shirt with a grey and white tabby cat's face on it, with a rose under (and patially covering) the cat. Under that it says DEFECTOR with the 4 degrees slant logo. He has on blue shorts or pants (they're shorts, I know they're shorts), they're not jeans but they're not sweats, like a sort of inbetween situation. There's a hospital admit bracelet on his left arm. His right arm is on the other arm of the couch.

My Life With An Uncommon Cancer

Joshua Needelman is a journalist based in New York City who has written for The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Guardian and more. He has dabbled in yoga and meditation for more than a decade. He enjoys eating (and making) pizza, as well as rooting for the New York Knicks, whom he is available to coach next season.

Joshua Needelman

Yoga

What The Guru Left Behind

Kit Fox is a writer, and former editor at Runner&#8217;s World and Men&#8217;s Journal, based in Emmaus, PA. He peaked in middle school after breaking sport stacking&#8217;s world record in the 3-3-3. He is also the co-author of the non-fiction book <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374311605/mightymoe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374311605/mightymoe/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1739381570912000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ixF1HpjLWDV7W39BiDUhA">Mighty Moe: The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women&#8217;s Running Revolutionary</a>.

Kit Fox

Cups stacked in the 1-10-1 formation, with a glowing eye on the top cup

If You Ever Stacked Cups In Gym Class, Blame My Dad

Elizabeth Hawes is a poet, playwright, and essayist from Minneapolis. A recipient of the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize, she has contributed to multiple pedagogical journals and books. Her quotes have been projected onto the Rockefeller Center during PEN America&#8217;s Centennial Art Installation Celebration: Speech Itself.

Elizabeth Hawes

An illustration of a steel toilet with blue water, in an empty room.

What Happens In Prison When You Can’t Pee On Command

Mohammed Mhawish is a Palestinian journalist and writer from Gaza. He is currently a contributing writer for The Nation. Mohammed, a contributor to the book A Land With a People, has reported for Al Jazeera, The Economist, MSNBC, +972 Magazine, and more. Subscribe to his newsletter <a href="https://www.mohammedmhawish.com/">here</a>.

Mohammed R. Mhawish

The rubble of the author's house in Gaza. A child's toy is visible.

One Year Ago, Israel Buried Me Alive. I’m Still Clawing My Way Out.

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Keith Hernandez, Mookie Wilson, and Sesame Street's the Count.

Life's Rich Pageant

Local Athletes, Leave Me Alone

<div>Nate Jackson is a former NFL tight end and author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/slow-getting-up-a-story-of-nfl-survival-from-the-bottom-of-the-pile-nate-jackson/6430451?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpc-oBhCGARIsAH6ote9JzWMngZDpSjF2eoL1_JlyPm2QhDfkNgOzqvaB4n9ic0qqUNQ4iCwaAsasEALw_wcB">Slow Getting Up</a>. He lives in Denver.</div>
<div></div>

Nate Jackson

Drawing of cannabis industry people chasing after a football player.

I Wish I’d Never Become The NFL Weed Guy

An illustration showing a figure run into and out of the frame.

When The Night You Didn’t Die Never Ends

<a href="https://www.caseyjohnston.website/">Casey Johnston</a> is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.

Casey Johnston

A screenshot of notifications from the author's FindMy app

Into Thin AirPods

Albert Burneko

An NYC subway car with an MTA badge by the door

Capital

Jordan Neely Just Needed Some Help

Alan Hanson is a writer from California. He writes creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry. He’s worked in advertising for over a decade because he likes to eat. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/iluvbutts247" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@iluvbutts247</a> unless of course he gets suspiciously suspended.

Alan Hanson

This screen grab shows the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 27, 2022.

I Was Almost Elon Musk’s Twitter Voice

Robin Ficker, seen here wearing a Washington Bullets hat and screaming.

NBA Heckler, Friend Of Ali, And Wannabe Governor Robin Ficker Gets Disbarred

Patrick Redford

Illsutration shows Applegath's Vertical Machine, a newspaper printing press, in operation, from an advertisement in the Printers' Register Supplement, 1870s. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

What Defector Staffers Learned From One Year Of Being Small Business Owners

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19