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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>Katharine Trendacosta writes about tech policy, the entertainment industry, pop culture, and where those things intersect. In her day job, she&#8217;s the Associate Director of Policy and Activism for the digital civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Her writing here reflects her views alone and not those of EFF.) In her spare time, she writes things like this.</p>


A photo of the author, Katharine Trendacosta

Katharine Trendacosta

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 19: Striking SAG-AFTRA members picket with striking WGA (Writers Guild of America) workers outside Netflix offices on July 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Members of SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood's largest union which represents actors and other media professionals, have joined striking WGA (Writers Guild of America) workers in the first joint walkout against the studios since 1960. The strike could shut down Hollywood productions completely with writers in the third month of their strike against the Hollywood studios. Netflix reported second quarter earnings after the closing bell today.

Arts And Culture

The Hollywood Strike Forces A Reckoning For The Trades

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Dennis Young is the news editor at Front Office Sports.</span></p>


Dennis Young

Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates her 100-meter final win at the 2023 track and field world championships.

Track And Field

American Track Now Has Its Most Electric Sprinters In Years

<p>Hesse Deni is a podcaster and screenwriter from Buffalo, New York currently living in Manhattan. Her podcast is called <em>Seeking Derangement</em>s and is available on all major platforms.</p>


Hesse Deni

Veteran broadcasters Harry Neale (left) and Rick Jeanneret (right) of the Buffalo Sabres get ready for their game

Rick Jeanneret’s Voice Gave Buffalo Hope

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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

Ukraine's Olha Kharlan (L) refuses to shake hands with Russia's Anna Smirnova, registered as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), after she defeated her during the Sabre Women's Senior Individual qualifiers, as part of the FIE Fencing World Championships at the Fair Allianz MI.CO (Milano Convegni) in Milan, on July 27, 2023.

Olympics

Olga Kharlan’s Stand Had History Behind It

<p>Krys Malcolm Belc is the author of <em>The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood</em> (Counterpoint) and the flash nonfiction chapbook <em>In Transit</em> (The Cupboard Pamphlet). He is the memoir editor of <em>Split Lip Magazine</em><i>. </i>Krys is the current Edelstein-Keller Writer-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota and lives in St. Paul with his partner and their four young children.</p>


Krys Malcolm Belc

Drawing of a group of people helping each other over a labyrinth

Histories Of Transition

How Transmasc Parents Navigate Testosterone After Pregnancy

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


Nicholas Russell

Hey It's That Guy

Can Benny Safdie Just Make Himself Into A Character Actor?

Life's Rich Pageant

Everyone At The Christian Influencer Convention Was Trapped

<p>Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider, Pitchfork, and many others. He lives with his family on Long Island.</p>


Sean T. Collins

Jon Moxley delivers a move to Anthony Bowens during the AEW Dynamite - Beach Break taping on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH.

Pro Wrestling

How Queer Pro Wrestlers Are Handling America’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Heel Turn


<p>Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.</p>


Corey Atad

Interviews

Steven Soderbergh Says It’s Time To Tear The Streaming Model Down To The Studs

Soraya Roberts

Writers on strike march with signs on the picket line on day four of the strike by the Writers Guild of America in front of Netflix in Hollywood, California on May 5, 2023. - More than 11,000 Hollywood television and movie writers are on their first strike since 2007 after talks with studios and streamers over pay and working conditions failed to clinch a deal.

Is An Independent Hollywood Possible?


<p>Patrick T. Dorsey is the writer of and a producer on the feature film FUTURE DATE, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Cinequest Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Comedy Feature. You can hear him Thursdays on Defector Trivia, whenever Diana Moskovitz shouts, “Baaaaaaabe!”</p>


Patrick T. Dorsey

Rose Zhang of the United States plays a shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club on July 14, 2023 in Sylvania, Ohio.

Golf

Rose Zhang, Golf’s Next Phenom, Is Doing Her Own Thing

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the film Barbie

Defector At The Movies

‘Barbie’ Was Born Out Of The Anxiety Of Modern Filmmaking

<p>Kim McCauley covers soccer for The Athletic and ESPN, and worked as a data analyst at Angel City FC. You can <a href="https://twitter.com/kimischilling" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/kimischilling&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1690042325485000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3FfPKUcZC9_LzSiHDnR1Ox">follow her on the bird app</a>.</p>
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Kim McCauley

Alyssa Thompson #7 of the United States dribbles the ball during the first half of an international friendly against Wales at PayPal Park on July 09, 2023 in San Jose, California.

Soccer

What Is This USWNT Player’s Deal: Alyssa Thompson

Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

‘Dead Reckoning’ Knows Exactly Who We Need Behind The Wheel

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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

An American soldier stands in the Zeppelin stadium and looks towards a Nazi swastika, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945. The stadium, along with two others, was used by Adolf Hitler to hold many Nazi rallies. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

They Almost Played An All-Star Game At Nuremberg

Stephen Root Knows What Lurks Beneath The Everyman

<p>Lucas Hubbard is a North Carolina-based writer whose work has appeared in Microfiction Monday Magazine, INDY Week, Paste, and other outlets.</p>


Lucas Hubbard

A card with a bunch of love items about Rafael Nadal. There's one of him picking his wedge, one of him screaming after a point and him, in a heart, smiling. Also there are drawings of tennis balls and tennis rackets.

Tennis

How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Nadal

Crowds are seen in front of the stage as Lost Frequencies gives a DJ Performance concert on the second day of the Champions Festival, which is being prepared for the UEFA Champions League final to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 9, 2023.

I Just Want To Go To A Concert

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California- and Las Vegas-based baseball labor and economics reporter.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

Domingo German #0 of the New York Yankees pitches to Esteury Ruiz #1 of the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the ninth inning at RingCentral Coliseum on June 28, 2023 in Oakland, California. Ruiz made the final out in a no-hit perfect game for German, defeating the Athletics 11-0.

The Perfect Game That Also Sucked 

Promotional image for Matthew McConaughey's Art Of Livin' event featuring McConaughey, Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and Trent Shelton

The Art (And Commerce) Of Livin’: Five Dazed And Confusing Hours Of Matthew McConaughey’s Self-Help Seminar

<p>Keith Paradise is a freelance writer who somehow won a Keystone Press Award during his<br />
decade spent as a newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania, where he covered sports, education, and<br />
the murder of a neighborhood turkey. Originally from Pittsburgh, he is a senior writer for<br />
Billiards Digest magazine and his name has appeared twice in the notable section of The Year’s<br />
Best Sports Writing anthology—including in 2024 for his Defector article on the rise and fall of<br />
sports clothing icon Starter.</p>


Keith Paradise

A rack of Starter jackets, satin and pullover and polyester. Colorado Rockies is in the front.

The Rise And Fall Of Starter, The Coolest Company On Earth

Enrique Hernandez #5 of the Boston Red Sox makes an error as he throws to second base during the second inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 3, 2023 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Red Sox Have Never Felt Smaller

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<div>Davey Davis is the author of the novels<em> the earthquake room </em>and <em>X</em><i>. </i>They write<i> </i>a weekly newsletter about <span style="color: #1a1a1a">art, culture, and sexuality at</span> <a href="http://itsdavid.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://itsdavid.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687637345270000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2asJHAQI7qwTPU6pk62gjF">itsdavid.substack.com</a>. They live in Brooklyn.</div>
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Davey Davis

Doctors Vs. David

Felix Kent

ZAGREB, CROATIA - MARCH 20: A sign in tribute to Craig Breen of Ireland and Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team who succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing crash last week during Day One of the FIA World Rally Championship Croatia on March 20, 2023 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)