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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>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

A hand covered in fentanyl. With a caption: 'Figure 1. Hand and Wrist Visibly Soiled with Fentanyl. Note: Larger liquid volumes appear more visible, however nearly full surface area was exposed. Arrow shows 0.5cm abrasion.'

Journalismism

Cops Are Still Fainting When They Touch Fentanyl

Laura Wagner

Under NYT Ownership, The Athletic Lays Down “No Politics” Rule For Staff

Defector’s Valuation Is $333 Million, According To Very Real Business Math

Axios To Staff: Our Values Are Cynically Engineered And Incoherent

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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

Tiger Woods celebrates on the eighteenth green after winning the 1997 Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, on April 13 1997. Woods finished with a record eighteen-under-par. / AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Golf

Tiger Woods, But Not Me, 25 Years Later

Dave McKenna

Elder Wisdom

The Little Font That Could

Three men in suits smiling as the man in the centre points to an article in a newspaper, which is spread out on the desk before them, circa 1945. Also on the desk are a telephone, an ashtray, and a small pile of books. (Photo by Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Media Meltdowns

Quiz! Which New Media Company With An Innovative Solution For Fixing The News Industry Said This?

“No One Knows Anything”: Staffers At The Athletic Wait In The Dark Following NYT Deal

Albert Burneko

The Media Smiths Have A Bold New Idea

Politics

The Supreme Court Is Working As Designed

This Is Just The Same Old Shit

An ad for the Carlos Watson show. A quote calls him "Anderson Cooper Meets Oprah" on it.

Ozy Media Is A Monumental Bummer

Kelsey McKinney

Zillowing Out

A $300,000 New Hampshire Tunnel Home Full Of Dead Ends

Tennis

Naomi Osaka’s Agent Isn’t Helping

Old headlines about how Marijuana led to killings

The Myth Of Cops Overdosing From Touching Fentanyl Persists For A Reason

A man walks past The Washington Post on August 5, 2013 in Washington, DC after it was announced that Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had agreed to purchase the Post for USD 250 million. Multi-billionaire Bezos, who created Amazon, which has soared in a few years to a dominant position in online retailing, said he was buying the Post in his personal capacity and hoped to shepherd it through the evolution away from traditional newsprint.

Objectivity Is A Workplace Hazard

The Staff Of The Appeal Is Ready To Make Something New

Barry Petchesky

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 15: Chicago Police officers guard the front entrance the their headquarters building during a rally on April 15, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The rally is held in protest of the killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago Police officer on March 29th. The video of the fatal shooting was released on Thursday to the general public by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability more than two weeks after the incident took place. (Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Police Say A Lot Of Things

Justin Ellis

Rich People Are Never Going To Save Media

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 07: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the second half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 07, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 89-76. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

College Basketball

Coach K Decides Maybe He Shouldn’t Have Belittled Student Reporter

<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>


Drew Magary

Funbag

Dan Le Batard Was One Of The Last Good Things At ESPN

Ray Ratto

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 21: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts after a basket during the second half of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center on December 21, 2019 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Kyrie Irving’s Gambit May Not Come Cheap

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 25: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on from the sideline during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Newspaper Columnist Does His Job

Why I Won’t Tell You Who’ll Be On My Hall Of Fame Ballot

Voters Line Up To Remind Us That Media And Democracy Are Broken

media