2025-12-24 05:31:04
Longtime elite gymnastics coach Al Fong has been suspended for physical and emotional misconduct by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization created by Congress to investigate reports of sexual abuse and misconduct across dozens of Olympic sports. The suspension will last for five years, per the USA Gymnastics database of suspended and restricted people.
Fong's wife, Armine Barutyan, who also coaches gymnastics, has also been suspended by SafeSport for physical and emotional misconduct. Her suspension, per USAG, is for one year.
2025-12-24 02:45:25
You would think a miserable year would be inspirational for a true hater. In actuality, it was hard to hold onto petty grievances and curmudgeonly grudges when the world has tilted into disarray. There is no respite from our constant toiling in a dystopian nightmare. Who really cares about Travis Scott and his Gatorade commercial music when you see what's happening to Palestine, Sudan, and immigrants right here at home? But criticism is about forming opinions and maintaining standards on what art should aspire to, and calling things out when that standard is not being upheld. Through the best of times and the worst of them.
And so we have the 2025 Hate List, my own Hater's Ball about the bullshit and shenanigans of a year that I cannot be silent about. It's a varied collection, a snapshot of the kinds of drivel and dishonesty that have been allowed to thrive mostly unchecked for much of the year. It's also full of pettiness, because sometimes you hate things for no other reason than the love of the game. But just as it's important to catalog the year's worst offerings, it's also important to give clarity on what is not featured on this list and why.
2025-12-24 01:14:28
Time for your weekly edition of the Defector Funbag. Got something on your mind? Email the Funbag. You can also read Drew over at SFGATE, and buy Drew’s books while you’re at it. Today, we're comparing and contrasting highway rest stops and malls and discussing NFL quarterback busts, plus knives, best-movie lists, and more.
Hello! Drew is off. I am your Funbaggist today. All hail the Funbaggist!
2025-12-24 00:53:51
The Golden State Warriors have been positively meh-tastic this season, as if it has finally dawned on them that they really are old after all these years. Even if the game has not fully passed them by, the NBA's talent dynamics surely have. They are not yet awful in the way of the worst of their brethren, as Comrade Hampton most recently learned to her own cost, and they are not likely to be so unless old comes up and takes a sizable chunk out of Stephen Curry. But there also isn't a lot to recommend them as a viewing experience or playoff contender at this moment. Their 120-97 win over Orlando Monday night merely pulled the Warriors back to .500. For a fan base that remembers the 2015-19 teams, which were below .500 for only five days in those five seasons, it is a bit of a comedown.
But the show must go on, and when every day is a new competition for the entertainment dollar—Red Panda is now doing NFL gigs, for Christ's sake—the Warriors are learning that there is more to holding an audience than Curry going for 48 in an inexplicable loss. You'll still get that show every now and then, but no longer with the old rerun-style regularity. The same goes for Draymond Green's own conundrum, which is sort of about keeping his more specialized audience engaged and sort of about managing his own ineffable Draymondness.
2025-12-24 00:32:53
Welcome back to Make It Nice, Defector's best interior design advice column. Today we have messy boys, an awkward living room layout, and advice on shopping for a couch. As a special holiday bonus, I will show you my extremely ugly bathroom sink.
Joe asks:
2025-12-23 23:54:40
This is what the Defector staff saw and enjoyed this year.
