defector-orange-no-empty-space

lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

Footer Legal

Header - Categories

Header Menu

The last good website.

Topics

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-no-empty-space

Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

back-in-stock-for-a-limited-time

Merch v3

<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>


8b2c55a3-643f-49c0-b14a-0e4470463bef_1200x1200-1

Tom Scocca

Journalists raise their hands in an attempt to ask a question of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.

white house press

Margin Of Error

Look For The Helpers

image0 (5)

Israel Daramola

Winter Scenes In Tokyo After Government Approved Economic Package

Politics

We Need To Get Off The Internet

skalaf-photo

Samer Kalaf

Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL speaking at a dinner.

jonathan-greenblatt-adl

The ADL Was A Farce Long Before It Made Excuses For Elon Musk

<p>William Turton is a photographer and investigative reporter. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.</p>


william-turton-19.jpeg.256x256_q100_crop-smart

William Turton

Trump fans in rain ponchos wait in the cold.

000766490027

Donald Trump’s Biggest Fans Waited In The Cold Like Dogs

headshot1

Patrick Redford

A stock graph shows the value of the $TRUMP meme coin displayed on a mobile screen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)

Super $Trump Meme Coin – Photo Illustration

Donald Trump Has Finally Come Up With A Use Case For Crypto

headshot

Barry Petchesky

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION

So What Would You Call This?

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.09</p>


Profile Pic

Chris Thompson

Trump supporters crowd the parade route, with trash everywhere.

Inauguration 2025

Painting The Town Red

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

An image of one of Alex's old journals, sitting on a very nice wood table.

IMG_3232

It’s Day One, Again

Jill Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Melania Trump.

The Inauguration Of Donald J. Trump As The 47th President

Welcome Home

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


Typing

Sabrina Imbler

a silvery fish called a delta smelt in a litle cup

Delta_Smelt_(36489759745)

This Week In Maligned Little Fish

First responders wearing Hazmat gear investigate a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas on Jan. 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

burned cybertruck

How Crazy Was The Las Vegas Cybertruck Bomber?

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and JD Vance attend the Army-Navy football game on December 14, 2024.

Trump Musk Vance

Elon Musk Takes What He Can Get

GettyImages-2169636185_jpg

Journalismism

ABC’s Trump Settlement Is A Bad Omen

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth leaves a meeting with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he continues to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC.

hegseth

What Makes A Scandal


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Profile

Luisa Rollenhagen

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 12: A parade float shows an effigy of Donald Trump holding a pair of scissors in his hand with a cut-up US flag in the shape of a swastika at the annual Rose Monday Carnival parade on February 12, 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Mainz and Dusseldorf Rose Monday parades are known for their biting political satire. Cities in western Germany are celebrating the traditional Rhineland Carnival this week, culminating in today's Rose Monday parades. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Rose Monday Carnival Parades In Mainz And Dusseldorf

Donald Trump Is Everyone’s Problem, Even In Germany

AJSfPYY9_400x400-1

Kelsey McKinney

The Harvest Moon rises over the U.S. Capitol dome in 2022.

Capitol Harvest Moon

The American Nightmare Is A Rerun

IMG_6025-800

Albert Burneko

Robert F. Kennedy looking like an old shrunken russet potato at some Trump rally.

RFK Jr. lookin real bad

Media Meltdowns

What The Fuck Is A “Vaccine Skeptic”?

Supporters hold "Women for Trump" signs as they watch Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania

Republican Nominee Donald Trump Campaigns For President Across Pennsylvania

Under The Influence

It’s Safe For Lifestyle Influencers To Be MAGA Now

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


drewkid-1-e1599592436888

Drew Magary

Golfer W. Sargent

Funbag

What’s The Worst Sport To Play With A Poopy Diaper?

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

A detractor of president-elect Donald Trump protests against his policies in New York City on November 9, 2024. Their sign says "we need all of us."

US-VOTE POLITICS-TRUMP

Beyond Belief

-b9trzb

Lauren Theisen

A Delta Air Lines banner ad for Pride Night is seen behind Casey Mize #12 of the Detroit Tigers as he pitches

Detroit Tigers v Atlanta Braves

End MLB Pride Nights

Workers prepare US Capitol for 2025 inauguration.

capitol

Last Time Was Lucky

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


IMG_1801 (1)

Nicholas Russell

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 5: A sign points voters where to go for voting at a voting precinct at the Two Towers Condominiums, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 5, 2024.

Presidential election in Minneapolis

After Tuesday

FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 06: Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes a speech during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, on November 06, 2024.

donald trump