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Defector


<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 protester supporting transgender athletes competing in women's sports holds a transgender pride flag outside the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026 in Washington, DC. The protestor is wearing a crown similar to the Statue of Liberty.

Politics

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Bans On Trans Athletes In School Sports

<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

art of a swimmer with their head half above water

Swimming

What Does A Great Trans Athlete Deserve?

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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

Chicago Stars FC fans chant Trans Rights are Human Rights while holding up a Transgender flag behind Alyssa Naeher #1 of Chicago Stars FC during the first half during a game between San Diego Wave FC and Chicago Stars FC at Seatgeek Stadium on April 26, 2025, in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Soccer

The Anti-Trans Grifters Are Coming For The NWSL

AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley competes in the girls high jump during the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California.

Youth Sports

Despite Online Outrage, The California State Track Meet Was Mostly Just A Track Meet

Tom Ley

A woman wearing Save Girls Sport hat records a video of transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley (not pictured) during the girls long jump at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School on May 24, 2025 in Moorpark, California.

It’s A Great Time To Be A Pathetic Loser

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) (L) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) (R) speak about an alleged screenshot from the Instagram of USA Fencing board director Damien Lehfeldt during the hearing on “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" held by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on May 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Green is holding a photo that makes it look like Lehfeldt is pointing at himself with his middle finger. Stansbury is holding up a larger capture of the same photo that shows him making a peace sign with the same hand.

The DOGE Fencing Hearing Was Stupid And Pointless Even By Congressional Standards

Kathryn Xu

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress

The DOGE Fencing Hearing Reveals The Latest In Anti-Trans Grift

The front of a U.S. Department of Education building.

Title IX Is Now A Weapon In The Trump Administration’s Culture War

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


Sabrina Imbler

People attend the 'Trans Day of Visibility Rally' hosted by the Christopher Street Project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Someone holds up a sign saying "I WANT MORE TRANSSEXUAL FRIENDS LOVERS TEACHERS STUDENTS NEIGHBORS AUTHORS ARTISTS LEADERS LAWYERS PREACHERS & COMRADES.

Science

What It Means To Fund Studies In Transition “Regret”

Lauren Theisen

Gays Against Guns contingent at the pride march.

Don’t Buy A Gun, Even If It Comes In Rainbow


<p>Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, <em>The Other Olympians</em>, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.</p>


Michael Waters

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (C) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA) (L) raise their hands when asked if they know a transgender woman during an event to celebrate the House passing The Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act outside the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the legislation, which defines sex as 'based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth' and would ban all transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

The Trans Sports Ban Portends Something Much Darker

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - OCTOBER 19: Brooke Slusser #10 of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Bigots Don’t Know Ball

<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>
