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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

Barry Petchesky

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 26: An exterior general view is seen of Sphere prior to the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 26, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at the Sphere on June 28 and 29, 2024. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Journalismism

Jeff Marek Got Fired For Leaking Draft Picks To The Wrong Person

Samer Kalaf

Delta Airlines planes sit parked at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Wings Week

Who’s Afraid Of A Palestinian Flag Pin?

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

Elon Musk, with blue bar stating "Your likes are private. Only you can see them." over his eyes

The Machines

Please Let Me See Your Twitter Likes

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.

Owen Lewis

Tennis

Defector Blogger Calls Aggregator Tweets “Pathetic” In Furious Takedown. Do You Agree?

Patrick Redford

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&amp;T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Republicans Struggle To Comprehend Nation’s Interest In NFL All-Pro And Taylor Swift

13 August 2021, Brandenburg, Grünheide: Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stands at a press event on the grounds of the Tesla Gigafactory. The first vehicles are to roll off the production line in Grünheide near Berlin from the end of 2021. The US company plans to build around 500,000 units of the compact Model 3 and Model Y series here each year. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Capital

Elon Musk Is Grimly Determined To Let You Know He Is Funny

Albert Burneko

Elon Musk wearing a black leather jacket with a shearling collar to a stage interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, lol.

Looking Good, Elon! Feeling Good, Trashcan Man!

James Robins is an award-winning critic and historian. His work has appeared in the New Republic, Vulture, and the TLS, and he writes the newsletter <a href="https://thedreadnought.substack.com/">The Dreadnought</a>. He lives in London.

James Robins

Walter Isaacson (right) and Elon Musk (left) speak onstage at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit back in 2014, long before Isaacson wrote a big biography of Musk.

Arts And Culture

Not Even The Patron Stooge Of Fawning Biographies Can Make Elon Musk Look Good

David Roth

Linda Yaccarino (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Linda Yaccarino Is The Last Funny Twitter Bit Left

Referee Eric Lewis #42 looks on during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors during the Western Conference Semi Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 4, 2023 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. 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 2023 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBA Referee Eric Lewis Abruptly Retires Before Twitter Burner Drama Can Be Resolved

Media Meltdowns

Flyers Staffers Forget To Mute Themselves Talking Shit About Reporter’s Question

Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav attends the premiere of The Flash in Hollywood.

They Don’t Want Us And We Don’t Need Them

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 01: in their women's strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC Apex on October 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Mark Zuckerberg, I Will Give You Five American Dollars If You Choke Out Elon Musk

Lance Armstrong is seen on January 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

Cycling

Lance Armstrong Is Suddenly Concerned With Fairness In Sports

A CNN broadcaster with the chyron "What is woke?"

This Is So Stupid

This Blog Has Gone Woke

Giri Nathan

This Twitter Account Is Unusually Dedicated To Defending The Honor Of NBA Referee Eric Lewis

Elon Musk and his mom doing some uncanny shit in costume at Heidi Klum's Halloween party.

Burning Down The House

The Bucks’ Playoff Defeat Has Caused Giannis To Massively Think

Kelsey McKinney

The Bluesky app can be seen on a smartphone. The service of the Twitter alternative Bluesky can only be used with invitations so far, so that the infrastructure is not overloaded in one go.

The Internet Isn’t Meant To Be So Small

John Semley is a writer and researcher based in Philadelphia.

John Semley

Clint Eastwood at a podium, it's an animated GIF, and different Clint Eastwood fake twitter accounts slowly fill the screen

A Fistful Of Eastwoos: Inside The Battle For Clint Twitter

Split image: Spencer Dinwiddie on the left, dribbling a basketball; on the right, Kyle Kuzma, in street clothes on an NBA bench, pointing

Kyle Kuzma Docks His Boat On “Dinshittie Island”

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

TOPSHOT - This video grab taken from a video posted on the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 26, 2022 shows himself carrying a sink as he enters the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile to "Chief Twit" and posted video of himself walking into the social network's California headquarters carrying a sink, days before his contentious takeover of the company must be finalized.

Call These People By Their Proper Name: Fucking Dorks

Luis Paez-Pumar

NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy speaks during a segment prior to the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 04, 2022 in Canton, Ohio.

Tony Dungy Believed The Whole “Litter Boxes In Schools” Hoax [Update]

Alan Hanson is a writer from California. He writes creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry. He’s worked in advertising for over a decade because he likes to eat. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/iluvbutts247" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@iluvbutts247</a> unless of course he gets suspiciously suspended.

Alan Hanson

This screen grab shows the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 27, 2022.