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_post_card_square

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_1x1

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

<div dir="ltr">
<div>Jen Golbeck is a writer, scientist, and professor at the University of Maryland. Her Substack, The <a href="http://magareport.news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://magareport.news&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1738242090561000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1v7CItRYSjo8F2e4vcdTQy">MAGAReport</a>, tracks what&#8217;s happening on far-right pro-Trump social media. She splits her time between Washington, D.C. and Key West.</div>
</div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>


headshotNew

Jen Golbeck

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Kharkiv. ( Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Arts And Culture

What’s Wrong With War Tourism?

headshot

Barry Petchesky

A man waves the Russian national flag as he arrives at the patriotic concert at the Red square in downtown Moscow ahead the Russia Day on June 11, 2023. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-POLITICS

Media Meltdowns

Dimwitted Right-Wing Influencers Accused Of Being Unwitting Russian Assets

headshot1

Patrick Redford

chess_poison

Chess

Russian Chess Player Arrested For Allegedly Poisoning Opponent With Mercury

<p>Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning journalist and author based in Mumbai. <a href="https://www.pujachangoiwala.com/">This</a> is her website.</p>


Puja Changoiwala

An image of the frontline in the Russia/Ukraine war, with an image of Mohammed Sufiyan, who was lured into that conflict by an Indian YouTube influencer.

GettyImages-2110557254(1)

Politics

How A YouTuber Duped Indians Into The Russia-Ukraine War

14 Feb 1993: Leftwinger Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres moves the puck during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport

Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Mogilny Is Hockey History Even If The Hall Of Fame Doesn’t Think So

150896222_10159099371879636_7101222369896621357_o

Laura Wagner

Brittney Griner in Russian court in Moscow, Russia on July 27, 2022.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – JULY 27: Brittney Griner in Russian court in M

WNBA

Brittney Griner Is Free

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 12: A close up shot of Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury at practice and media availability during the 2021 WNBA Finals on October 11, 2021 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

WNBA Finals Practice and Media Availability

Russian Authorities Move Brittney Griner To A Penal Colony

IMG_5859

Giri Nathan

An umpire requests that a fan wearing a Ukraine flag at a match between Russian players remove the flag.

cincinnati-open-ukraine-flag

Tennis

Fan With Ukrainian Flag Booted From Cincinnati Open Match Between Russian Players

Screen Shot 2022-07-27 at 5.47.11 PM

Report: Biden Offers Viktor Bout For Brittney Griner And Another American Prisoner

US WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on June 27, 2022.

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-US-DIPLOMACY-BASKET-COURT

Swapping Brittney Griner For Viktor Bout Should Be An Easy Call

<p>Maya Goldberg-Safir writes about women’s basketball and splits her time between Chicago and Oakland, where she was born and raised. She is the creator of <a href="https://wnbaroughnotes.substack.com/">Rough Notes</a>, a newsletter chronicling women’s basketball from the court, the road, and the heart.</p>


photo_large

Maya Goldberg-Safir

WNBA Finals – Game One – Chicago Sky v Phoenix Mercury

Brittney Griner And The Labyrinth Of Wrongful Detainment

Previews: The Championships – Wimbledon 2016

ATP And WTA Take Away Ranking Points From Wimbledon Due To Ban On Russian And Belarusian Players

The All England Tennis Club during Wimbledon 2021.

Day Thirteen: The Championships – Wimbledon 2021

What Message Is Wimbledon’s Ban On Russian Players Really Sending?

BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 23: Nikita Mazepin of Russia and Haas F1 unveils the Haas F1 VF-22 Ferrari during Day One of F1 Testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 23, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Formula 1 Testing in Barcelona – Day 1

Racing

The Biggest Piece-Of-Shit Driver In Recent F1 History Just Got His Villa Repossessed By The Italian Authorities


<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

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - MARCH 25: Ukrainian refugees queue at Immigration and Border Control, after arriving from Moldova at Frankfurt Airport on March 25, 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has taken in over 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. Germany is providing assistance to ease the burden. (Photo by Ronald Wittek - Pool/Getty Images)

Germany Receives Ukrainian Refugees From Moldova

Who Is The “Right” Kind Of Refugee?

Daniil Medvedev loses to Gael Monfils at Indian Wells.

BNP Paribas Open – Day 6

You Must First Denounce The Flag, Then Stomp The Flag And Bury It Deep In The Earth, To Show You Do Not Support Putin And Play At Wimbledon

ratto-ray_400x400

Ray Ratto

FBL-ENG-PR-CHELSEA-NEWCASTLE

Soccer

Chelsea’s Win Felt Mercifully Routine

IMG_3819

Tom Ley

FBL-ENG-PR-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-SANCTIONS

Chelsea Belongs To The U.K. Now

WNBA Finals – Game Two

Brittney Griner Should Have Never Been In This Situation

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


Profile Pic

Chris Thompson

Crisis Averted: Bill Walton Fails To Complete Random Thought About Russian Invasion During Basketball Broadcast

Abramovich watches during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England.

Chelsea v Sunderland – Premier League

Premier League Ponders Separating Good Billionaires And Bad Billionaires

IMG_6025-800

Albert Burneko

NASCAR's Richard Childress holding a tomahawk ribeye like a big dumbass

NASCAR Xfinity Series Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300

Life's Rich Pageant

Retired NASCAR Bozo: Behold, It Is I, The Angel Of Death

Screen Shot 2021-04-16 at 8.43.55 AM

Ben Tippett

TOPSHOT-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT

The International Community Worked Hard To Make Putin’s Illegal War Permissible

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 10: Sergei Karjakin is seen playing the first round at the First Move Ceremony during the World Chess Tournament on March 10, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for World Chess)

World Chess Tournament 2018 – First Move Ceremony

Chess Has A Russia Problem

Image from iOS (36)

Luis Paez-Pumar

Liverpool fans show a Ukrainian flag to indicate peace and sympathy with Ukraine prior to the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on February 27, 2022 in London, England

Chelsea v Liverpool – Carabao Cup Final

European Soccer United In Support Of Ukraine This Weekend

russia