Sports

When Your Hometown Team Gets a New Identity

Black fans of the Washington Football Team are adapting to a new future for their beloved franchise—and reckoning with its past disregard of Native Americans.

• Hannah Giorgis
• November 26, 2020

It Had to Be the Lakers

Love them or hate them, the NBA’s most storied franchise was the right team for this moment.

• Ross Andersen
• October 11, 2020

This Woman Surfed the Biggest Wave of the Year

Here’s why you probably haven’t heard about it.

• Maggie Mertens
• September 12, 2020

The Coronavirus Is Revealing Football’s Human Cost

Amid a global pandemic, the NFL’s non-guaranteed contracts force players into a familiar choice: stay safe, or stay on the field.

• Robert O'Connell
• September 10, 2020

The NBA Had It Coming

The Milwaukee Bucks’ going on strike and disrupting their season at one of its most crucial inflection points proves that the players’ activism is no longer a fringe movement.

• Michael Weinreb
• August 27, 2020

The NBA’s Uneasy Return Follows an Age-Old Script

The league’s insulated relaunch in Florida amid the pandemic has a surprising antecedent.

• Danny Chau
• July 30, 2020

My Soccer Fandom Is Out of Shape

A lifelong fan took in yesterday’s Manchester City–Arsenal game, and struggled to connect with his onetime obsession.

• James Parker
• June 18, 2020

Athletes During the Pandemic Are Learning What Fans Have Always Known

As players return to empty arenas, they are discovering a basic truth: Live sports is an act of social imagination.

• Danny Chau
• May 20, 2020

Baseball’s Strange and Poignant Return to TV

The first live sports games to air in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic provide a hopeful, yet harrowing, look at the future.

• Robert O'Connell
• May 12, 2020

Why the Super Bowl Was a Game Changer for the NFL

Sunday’s showing offered a blueprint for a potentially dynamic chapter in professional football.

• Michael Weinreb
• February 4, 2020

The NFL’s Most Valued Cause Is Itself

A social-justice-focused ad that aired during last night’s Super Bowl affirmed a disturbing and all too familiar truth about the league.

• Hannah Giorgis
• February 3, 2020

The Serious Message in Shakira and J. Lo’s Halftime Show

With an overwhelming spectacle, the two stars acknowledged that Latin identity is bigger than any one performance.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• February 3, 2020

Maternity Leave—Not Higher Pay—Is the WNBA’s Real Win

A new policy could transform the way professional female athletes experience pregnancy in their respective sports.

• Maggie Mertens
• February 1, 2020

Kobe Bryant’s Unfinished Business

It’s tragic that a superstar known for his thoughtfulness and willingness to learn never fully reckoned with his life’s darkest off-court episode.

• Ross Andersen
• January 27, 2020

The LSU Championship Game Further Exposed the NCAA’s Hypocrisy

With the recent victory, the association has shown signs that it cannot defend its amateurism model for much longer.

• Stephen A. Miller
• January 22, 2020

The Astros’ Cheating Scandal Rewrites a Decade of Baseball History

Houston’s dominance once looked like the sport’s biggest success story. Now their whole legacy is in doubt.

• Jeremy Venook
• January 19, 2020

The Case Against Stripping the Astros of Their World Series Title

The MLB has handed harsh penalties to Houston for sign stealing, but revoking the team’s ill-gained 2017 championship is implausible.

• Robert O'Connell
• January 15, 2020

The Two Players Who Are Breaking the ‘No-Fun League’

As the 2019 season enters its final stretch, an entertaining MVP race showcases a less restrictive brand of football.

• Robert O'Connell
• December 12, 2019

Carmelo Anthony’s Melancholy NBA Return

After a season away, the future Hall of Famer comes back to a league that no longer has much use for him.

• Robert O'Connell
• November 22, 2019