Deadspin Writers Launch New Site With Mostly White Staff
Writers who formerly worked at Deadspin have launched a new media publication comprised of mostly white staff members.
The Detractor, which will open up for business in the coming months, will be made up of Albert Burneko, Dave McKenna, Drew Magary, Dan McQuade, Samer Kalaf, Kelsey McKinney, Billy Haisley, Diana Moskovitz, Giri Nathan, Patrick Redford, Lauren Theisen, Christ Thompson, Luis Paez-Pumar, David Roth, Barry Petchesky, Ray Ratto and Maitreyi Anantharaman.
If most of those names sound very white to you, it’s because that is precisely what they are.
What makes this all the more puzzling is that these very same Deadspin writers were generally the first to call out athletes and organizations for their lack of inclusivity.
Sports media, and all media to a broader extent, tends to be more white than not – so the Defector’s roster in itself is not all that shocking. But the hypocrisy is a bit off-putting.
The Defector will be a subscription service site like The Athletic, with plans starting at $69. It remains to be seen how many people will actually want to pony up to read a bunch of writers that they didn’t particularly want to support even when it cost nothing.
It will be interesting to see the Defector ultimately opts to add some diversity to its ranks. Presumably the outlet will be covering sports like the NBA and NFL, which are filled predominantly with black athletes. A bit of representation would certainly make sense, but time will tell if it actually comes to fruition.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
