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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

Dave McKenna

LAGRANGE, GA - JUNE 10: Former US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter attach siding to the front of a Habitat for Humanity home being built June 10, 2003 in LaGrange, Georgia. More than 90 homes are being built in LaGrange; Valdosta, Georgia; and Anniston, Alabama by volunteers as part of Habitat for Humanity International's Jimmy Carter Work Project 2003.

Politics

Jimmy Carter Was The Iron Man Of Hospice

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


Dan McQuade

During an interview with sportscaster Greg Gumbel (right), American disc jockey (from WLUP radio, 'The Loop') Steve Dahl breaks a disco record over his head prior to hosting an anti-disco promotion at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, July 12, 1979. The event, held between games of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers, allowed fans to attend the games for 98 cents along with an unwanted record and, following the detonation of those records, eventually resulted in the White Sox forfeiture of the second game due to unsafe playing conditions when fans stormed the field causing serious damage to the venue and playing surface.

Greg Gumbel Kept It All In Perspective

Ray Ratto

Multiple exposure of Oakland Athletics Rickey Henderson (24) in action, stealing base vs San Francisco Giants. Game 1. Oakland, CA 10/14/1989

Rickey Henderson Believed In Rickey Henderson

Israel Daramola

Quincy Jones on stage at The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and The Recording Academy Los Angeles chapter honoring Herbie Hancock all star tribute concert at the Kodak Theatre

Arts And Culture

Quincy Jones Was Greater Than Any One Era

LANDOVER, MD - CIRCA 1992: Jerrod Mustaf #0 of the Phoenix Suns warms up prior to playing the Washington Bullets in an NBA basketball game circa 1992 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Mustaf played for the Suns from 1991-94.

Sadly, Jerrod Mustaf Was More Than A Basketball Player

Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds dives head first into home plate during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field during the early 1970s in Chicago

Pete Rose, All-American

Defector Staff

James Earl Jones smiling into the camera, 1978

Defector At The Movies

Defector’s Favorite James Earl Jones Performances

Rich Homie Quan performs onstage at The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre on September 01, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.

Rich Homie Quan Got To The Top Of The Mountain

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


Sabrina Imbler

two penguins stand in front of an inflatable rainbow arch in a penguin enclosure

Creaturefector

Sphen The Gay Penguin Broke The Ice

Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under The Influence

Gena Rowlands Played Pathetic Better Than Anyone

A round stingray (Urolophus halleri) I photographed in shallow water at Bolsa Chica wetlands (Southern California). The clouds of sand around the eyes and and body were formed as the stingray flapped and positioned deeper in the sand, expelling water. You can see the spiracles behind the eyes.

Charlotte, The Stingray At The Heart Of Scandal, Has Died

Willie Mays walking across the outfield at the Polo Grounds as a member of the San Francisco Giants during a 1962 game against the New York Mets.

Willie Mays Was Baseball

<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

Journalismism

The ‘Longform’ Podcast Told The Story Of An Industry

(Original Caption) Lakers' Jerry West (C) is guarded closely by Celtics' Bill Russell (L) as he goes in for a layup, 3rd period, 1st game of championship playoffs of the NBA, Boston Garden (4/18). Celtics' Willie Naulls is on the right. Celtics won the game, 142-110.

Jerry West Never Left His Game

Barry Petchesky

Earthrise - Apollo 8, December 24, 1968. This view of the rising Earth greeted the Apollo 8 astronauts as they came from behind the Moon after the fourth nearside orbit. The photo, by&#xa0;astronaut&#xa0;William Anders, is displayed here in its original orientation, though it is more commonly viewed with the lunar surface at the bottom of the photo. Earth is about five degrees left of the horizon in the photo. The unnamed surface features on the left are near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar horizon is approximately 780 kilometers from the spacecraft. Height of the photographed area at the lunar horizon is about 175 kilometers.

Science

Bill Anders First Saw The Earth

Alex Belth

Journalist Grant Wahl (right) works in the FIFA Media Center before a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between Wales and USMNT at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. He had been detained earlier by stadium security for wearing a rainbow-colored t-shirt before later being allowed to enter the stadium.

Soccer

Remembering Grant Wahl, America’s Greatest Soccer Writer

<div class="author-header-content">
<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

Portland Trail Blazers' Bill Walton, who received many accolades for his performance on the court, is depicted here. Walton would later go on to pursue a career off the court as a sports broadcaster and an actor in feature films.

Bill Walton Let His Joy Flourish

David Roth

Steve Albini performs with his band Shellac at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles in 2016.

Music

Everyone Has A Steve Albini Album

O.J. Simpson leaves the courtroom during a trial in Las Vegas in September 2008. Simpson was later convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping.

O.J. Simpson Was Always More Than Polarizing

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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

Attorney Peter Angelos talks about his law practice and his hopes about buying the Orioles.

Peter Angelos Was The Ultimate Team Owner


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

A photo of Lilly the cat. She's smokey with black and white coloring, a little white bib, and green eyes. She's sitting atop a blanket atop our couch looking quite regal.

Animals

For Lilly, Always There

<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

TUNIS, TUNISIA - JULY 26 : A man reads a newspaper with the death of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi (92) on the headline in the country in Tunis, Tunisia on July 26, 2019. (Photo by Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Funbag

I Have To Know Why You Died!

COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 6: Former Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell waves to the crowd during a timeout against Purdue on February 6, 2016 in College Park, MD.

College Basketball

Lefty Driesell, Who Brought Winning To D.C. Sports, Has Died

<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>
