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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

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk during the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBO World Heavyweight championship contest at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Picture date: Saturday December 21, 2024. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

Boxing

Someone Got Inside Tyson Fury’s Head For A Change

<p><span style="color: #000000">Julie Kliegman is a writer and editor in Queens, New York. They wrote <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/mind-game-9798216378051/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1763134080975000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15Dx3xf4fCxIqYQnD4bF_R"><em>Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes</em></a>. Their next book, the biography <i>Finding Renée Richards</i>, is due out in August 2026. Kliegman’s work has also appeared in outlets including <em>The New York Times</em>,<em> Sports Illustrated</em>, <em>The Washington Post</em>, Bookforum, Slate, The Ringer, <em>Texas Monthly</em>, Vulture, BuzzFeed News, and The Verge.</span></p>


Julie Kliegman

a female golfer floats in space, looking down on a giant moon-like golf ball

Golf

Hailey Davidson Loves Golf, And Golf Wants To Get Rid Of Her

Alan Kluegel

Denzel Washington looking incredibly sinister and cool in Gladiator II.

Defector At The Movies

II Decadent II Decrepit: The Politics Of ‘Gladiator II’

Ben Tippett

India's grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (R) reacts after winning against China's chess grandmaster Ding Liren in game 14 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore on December 12, 2024. The 18-year-old became "the YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION in history", said the International Chess Federation in a post on social media platform X, after Ding resigned in a thrilling endgame that had been expected to end in a draw.

Chess

Gukesh D Unleashed The Zugzwang To Become The Youngest World Chess Champion In History

<p>Annie Howard is a journalist and historian based in Chicago. She is currently at work on her debut manuscript, <em>The City Made Me Trans</em><i>.</i></p>


Annie Howard

Music

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Works Hard To Hope

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<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>
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Tom Scocca

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.

Margin Of Error

What Makes A Scandal

China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren (R) and India’s chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju (L) compete during the start of the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore on November 25, 2024.

Ding Liren Is Putting Up A Fight

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


Nicholas Russell

Arts And Culture

‘The Village’ Still Has Questions To Ask

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

The crowded work bench of New York tattooist Charlie Wagner in the 1940's. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

How Do You Preserve Tattoo History When Skin And Memory Fail?

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<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
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Charles P. Pierce

FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 24: A pylon-camera is seen during an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Things We Actually Like

Blessed Be The Pylon Cam

Soraya Roberts

Crowd Work Isn’t A Substitute For Comedy

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

How The Art Modell Law Could Keep The Browns From Leaving Cleveland

Felix Kent

Simple Hotel Room, Iceland. (Photo by: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Why Does Hotel Art Look Like That?


<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>


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)

Politics

Donald Trump Is Everyone’s Problem, Even In Germany

<p>Lesley Ryder is a writer and a host covering the Chicago Red Stars. She co-created <a href="https://galpalsports.com/">Gal Pal Sports</a>, a platform that lives to make women’s sports fun for everyone.</p>


Lesley Ryder

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 22: NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman addresses the media ahead of the NWSL 2024 Championship at CPKC Stadium on November 22, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Soccer

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman Keeps Talking Around The San Diego Wave Lawsuit

<p>Libby Watson is a writer, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/libtron">streamer</a> and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/whatsallthisthen">podcaster</a>.</p>


Libby Watson

A roasted and sliced turkey breast with the Chefector badge of a cartoon chef eating a gigantic burger.

Perfectly Fine Dinner Party Club

The Case For Thanksgiving II

The U.S. Supreme Court building with the low afternoon sun behind it and a pedestrian in the foreground.

Lapse Of Judgment

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Marta #10 of the Orlando Pride celebrates after the Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 to win the NWSL 2024 Championship Game at CPKC Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Orlando Runs Away With The NWSL, And The Rest Will Have To Catch Up

12 February 2024, Schleswig-Holstein, Wangels: Chess: Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, chess tournament based on the Chess960 variant, quarter-finals, at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort. Ding Liren (China) in action. Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa

The Clouds Have Gathered Over The World Chess Championship

A de-aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in 'Here'

In ‘Here,’ Robert Zemeckis Is Back On His Computer-Generated Bullshit

Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller in 'Somebody Somewhere'

‘Somebody Somewhere’ Is A Dream Without A Deadline

<p>Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books <i>Nerve </i>and <i><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.</i></p>


Eva Holland

Lael Wilcox pedaling past a field of poppes in Spain

Cycling

Trying To Catch Up With Lael Wilcox As She Biked Around The World In 108 Days

Workers prepare US Capitol for 2025 inauguration.

Last Time Was Lucky

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.

After Tuesday

<p>Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.</p>


Hamilton Nolan

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 3: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars talks to Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles after the game at Lincoln Financial Field on November 3, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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