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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.

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Defector

Enter Our Raffle To Win A Visit And Home-Cooked Meal From Drew Magary

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tip jar sweepstakes

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Tom Ley

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 18: Chelsea owner Todd Boehly gestures prior to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on April 18, 2023 in London, United Kingdom.

Chelsea FC v Real Madrid: Quarterfinal Second Leg – UEFA Champions League

Soccer

What Should We Make Of Chelsea’s Reported Saudi Bailout?

Ben Orbison is a writer living in Los Angeles

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Ben Orbison

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Tommy Fleetwood of England plays a second shot on the first hole during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

123rd U.S. Open Championship – Round One

Golf

The Los Angeles Country Club Owes L.A. More Than Just A Good U.S. Open

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Gimlet Media co-founder Alex Blumberg speaks at the Ignition: Future of Media conference in New York City, in 2017.

IGNITION: Future of Media

Capital

Gimlet Media’s Story Was Always Going To End Like This

Alex Pareene is a contributing editor at The New Republic and the co-host, with Laura Marsh, of the podcast&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/018-amanda-litman-run-for-something-why-you-cant-see/id1341525125?i=1000444277937" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Politics of Everything</a>.

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Alex Pareene

Reddit logo is seen on an android mobile device with an ascent growth chart in the background.

The Last Page Of The Internet

<div class="gmail_default">Timothy Faust is a healthcare writer and author of the book <a href="http://www.healthjusticenow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.healthjusticenow.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685593699820000&amp;usg=AOvVaw24V19Y2HTPgYkH_EpZ_lgj">Health Justice Now</a>. He and his long little dog, Ume, move around a lot.</div>
<div class="gmail_default"></div>

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Timothy Faust

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 16: Zander Bathory steps on the back of the European Assassin during the AWF Wrestling Dojo Wrestling night July 16, 2004 in Sydney, Australia. For this group of die-hard sports professionals who spend most Saturdays training and wrestling in a small dojo in Sydney's South West. It's a ritual that goes way beyond dedication reaching into the realm of obsession. Founded in 1999, the AWF has now grown to over fifty professional wrestlers Australia wide. Hosting regular bout nights across the country, means these guys get a chance to do things they don't normally get to do, the blood is real and injuries happen, often. After starting a school for wrestling six years ago, AWF founder Greg Bowden has trained more than fifty pro wrestlers, in a bid to help promote the sport and build a substantial fan base. Unlike America's WWE group, which is broadcast regularly around the world via cable television, the AWF, despite numerous attempts, have been unable to secure television broadcast support, which constantly hampers the sport's promotion, keeping crowd numbers down and the group confined to low cost venues and shows. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Inside The Australian Wrestling Federation

Pro Wrestling

In American Indie Wrestling, Bodies Are Cheap And Healthcare Is Not

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Patrick Redford

BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 14 : Fans cheering to game stage during the 2018 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Groups Stage at the EU LCS Studio on May 14, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games via Getty Images)

2018 Mid-Season Invitational Groups Day 4

The ‘League Of Legends’ Walkout Is A Warning

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Ray Ratto

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: Fans sit behind signs referencing plans for the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas during a game against the Atlanta Braves at RingCentral Coliseum on May 29, 2023 in Oakland, California.

Atlanta Braves v Oakland Athletics

Oakland A’s: Thousands Of Fans Across The Country Will Flock To Las Vegas To Watch Us Play Awful Baseball

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David Roth

Duke wing player Brian Davis seen on the team's bench in 1991.

Brian Davis – Duke

In Praise Of Brian Davis’s Very Possibly Fake $7 Billion Bid For The Washington Commanders

Katharine Trendacosta writes about tech policy, the entertainment industry, pop culture, and where those things intersect. In her day job, she&#8217;s the Associate Director of Policy and Activism for the digital civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Her writing here reflects her views alone and not those of EFF.) In her spare time, she writes things like this.

A photo of the author, Katharine Trendacosta

Katharine Trendacosta

Actor and writer Daheli Hall, left, joins WGA members as they cheer on the first day of their strike in front of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on May 2, 2023.

WGA-Strike

The Writers Are Striking For The Future Of Entertainment

Steph Curry carves a Bored Ape ice sculpture.

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The NBA’s New Social Justice Champion Has A Few Demerits

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Albert Burneko

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who sucks at his job

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Media Meltdowns

How Not To Interview A Transportation Secretary

Visual Editor. Runs <a href="http://defectorstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">defectorstore.com</a>. Philadelphia-based, if you couldn’t tell.

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Dan McQuade

Split image: Dan McQuade (left) wearing an American Dream EST. 2019 hoodie standing next to a cardboard cutout of Shrek at the DreamWorks Water Park inside a mall. David Roth (right) pointing up at the "WINNERS CIRCLE" entrance at the old Meadowlands Arena.

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Life's Rich Pageant

Dan And Dave Explore The American Dream (Mall)

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

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Nicholas Russell

Aerial view of urban sprawl, Las Vegas, Nevada

What Comes After Meeting The Neighbors?

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

Heidi Klum’s Hallowe’en Party 2022

Burning Down The House

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 17: Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes moves through security while on her way to court on March 17, 2023 in San Jose, California. Holmes is appearing in court for a restitution hearing. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images)

Disgraced Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Appears In Court For A Restitution Hearing

Everyone Who Knows What Elizabeth Holmes Did Wrong, Step Forward (Not So Fast, The New York Times)

Dan Berger teaches at the University of Washington Bothell and writes about activism, Black Power, and the carceral state. His latest book is Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power Through One Family’s Journey.

IAS Associate Professor Dan Berger

Dan Berger

Chicago School Closings Protest

In The Fight For Justice, The Police Can Only Be On One Side

An NYC subway car with an MTA badge by the door

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Jordan Neely Just Needed Some Help

Investigations Editor. You can reach her at diana@defector.com or, if you prefer protonmail, dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. If security is a concern, download the Signal app and send her a text at 929-251-8187.

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Diana Moskovitz

A BuzzFeed News logo adorns a wall inside BuzzFeed headquarters, December 11, 2018 in New York City.

Buzzfeed

Journalismism

Greed Is Still The Problem

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Laura Wagner

bball

Elder Wisdom

What Can A Hoop Do?

Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California-based minor league baseball writer.

Jen Ramos Eisen

An image of the baseball field at Stockton Ballpark in Stockton, California. There's a baseball field, and rows of plastic chairs for fans to sit in.

The Stockton Ballpark

Minor League Baseball’s New CBA Still Won’t Solve All Its Transportation Woes

Lisbon , Portugal - 1 November 2022; Changpeng Zhao, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Binance at Centre Stage during the opening night of Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images)

Web Summit 2022 – Opening Night

Binance Crackdown Reveals How Rigged The Crypto Game Is

Striking Los Angeles Unified School District employees and their supporters, including teachers, rally outside LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 during the first day of a three-day strike. At the center of the photo, a person is holding up a sign. It reads: "Mortgage: $$$$ Food: $$$$$ Utilities: $$$$$ My pay: ¢¢¢¢¢¢"

LAUSD strike

Why L.A.’s Education Workers Had No Choice But To Strike

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: A Brinks armored truck sits parked in front of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down on Friday morning by California regulators and was put in control of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Prior to being shut down by regulators, shares of SVB were halted Friday morning after falling more than 60% in premarket trading following a 60% declined on Thursday when the bank sold off a portfolio of US Treasuries and $1.75 billion in shares to cover declining customer deposits. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Silicon Valley Bank Shut Down By Regulators

The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank Is Testing Tech’s Loudest Evangelists

<a href="https://twitter.com/johnwilmeswords">John Wilmes</a> is a writer and professor in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Ringer, GQ, Chicago Reader, and The New Republic, among other places. He is the author of the novella Jad&#8217;s Dad Milo.

John Wilmes

A Compass Group employee works the hot dog concession at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

Cleveland Indians v Chicago White Sox

A Fight Is Brewing In Chicago Between A Multinational Concessions Business And Its Workers

Micah Herskind is an organizer, policy advocate, and writer based in Atlanta, GA.

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Micah Herskind

A police car near the site of Atlanta's proposed Cop City