by Glenn Stout
JOHN COLAPINTO was born and raised in Toronto and has been a staff writer at Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. He is the author of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl, an expansion of his National Magazine Award–winning feature story “The True Story of John/Joan.” He is also the author of two novels, About the Author and Undone. He is married and has an 18-year-old son.
LUKE CYPHERS has worked as a copy editor at Dow Jones & Co., as an investigative sports reporter for the New York Daily News, and as a senior writer and editor at ESPN: The Magazine. A former journalism professor at SUNY Plattsburgh and a current contributor to Adirondack Life magazine, he lives in upstate New York.
GEORGE DOHRMANN has worked for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting in 2000, and his first book, Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, won the 2011 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.
TIM ELFRINK is an award-winning investigative reporter, the managing editor of the Miami New Times, and the coauthor of Blood Sport: A-Rod and the Quest to End Baseball’s Steroid Era. Since 2008, he’s written in-depth pieces on police corruption, fatal shootings, and social justice issues across South Florida. He’s won the George Polk Award and has been a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.
SEAN FLYNN is a longtime correspondent for GQ, writing mostly about crime and disaster.
PATRICK HRUBY is a contributing editor at Vice Sports and a fellow at the University of Texas–Austin’s Program in Sports and Media. He has worked for Sports on Earth, ESPN, and the Washington Times and taught journalism at Georgetown University. He holds degrees from Georgetown and Northwestern and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Saphira. This is his sixth appearance in The Best American Sports Writing.
BOMANI JONES is the host of the daily sports talk show The Right Time on ESPN Radio, a cohost of the ESPN sports television program Highly Questionable, and a panelist on the sports roundtable discussion show Around the Horn. As CEO of Old Soul Productions, Bomani hosts The Evening Jones, a weekly, one-hour, audience-driven podcast discussing a range of pop culture topics. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and received a master’s degree in politics, economics, and business from Claremont Graduate University as well as a master’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
Time Magazine called PAT JORDAN’s memoir A False Spring “one of the best and truest books about baseball, and about coming to maturity in America.” He is the author of 10 other books, including The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan.
JESSE KATZ is a Los Angeles writer and the author of a memoir, The Opposite Field. He began his career at the Los Angeles Times, where he shared in two Pulitzer Prizes. As a staff writer at Los Angeles magazine, he received the James Beard Foundation’s M. F. K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award and the PEN Center USA’s Literary Award for Journalism. In addition to GQ, his work has appeared in the California Sunday Magazine, Billboard, New York, Town & Country, and The American Prospect. Katz has run nine marathons, each slower than the last.
JEFF MAYSH’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, Playboy, and Howler. In 2015 he was named Crime Journalist of the Year at the 58th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards. He is British-American and based in Los Angeles.
TERRENCE MCCOY is a staff writer at the Washington Post, covering poverty in rural and urban America. He is the recipient of numerous national awards, including the 2016 George Polk Award for a series of stories that showed how companies in an obscure industry made millions of dollars off exploitative deals with the poor and disabled. He is from Madison, Wisconsin, and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife.
ALEXIS OKEOWO is a staff writer at The New Yorker. She is also a fellow at New America. Okeowo is the author of A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa.
RUTH PADAWER is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, focusing on gender and social issues. She also teaches at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her work—which has appeared in the Guardian, the Times of London, and USA Today and on the radio show This American Life—has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
S. L. PRICE has been a senior writer at Sports Illustrated since 1994. He has written four books, including Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town, which was named a Best Book of 2016 by the Boston Globe and Kirkus Reviews and was a finalist for the 2017 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. This is his ninth appearance in The Best American Sports Writing.
DAVID REMNICK has been editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and a staff writer since 1992. He is the author of Lenin’s Tomb, Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia, King of the World (a biography of Muhammad Ali), The Bridge (a biography of Barack Obama), The Devil Problem, and Reporting.
GRAYSON SCHAFFER is an editor-at-large for Outside based in Santa Fe. He has been with the magazine for 15 years.
DAVE SHEININ has been covering baseball and writing features and enterprise stories for the Washington Post since 1999. His work has been recognized with awards six times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, and in 2010 he received a first-place National Headliner Award for Sports Writing for his season-long coverage of Stephen Strasburg’s rookie year. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he studied English and music and trained as an opera singer, he lives in Maryland with his wife and two daughters.
KURT STREETER is an ESPN senior writer focused on a wide range of sports and drawn to untold, overlooked stories. Prior to joining ESPN, he worked at the Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times, where he was a metro desk feature writer and sports columnist and covered beats ranging from religion to the LAPD. An accomplished athlete, Streeter co-captained the California Berkeley men’s tennis team in the late 1980s and held a pro tennis world ranking for four years. His stories about a young female boxer from East Los Angeles and an elderly boxing timekeeper appeared in the 2006 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. He lives in Seattle with his wife and son.
RICK TELANDER is the senior sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. This is his eighth appearance in The Best American Sports Writing.
LOUISA THOMAS is the author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams and Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists—A Test of Will and Faith in World War I. She is a contributor to the website of The New Yorker.
TERI THOMPSON is the former managing editor for sports at the New York Daily News and the founder of the newspaper’s award-winning Sports Investigative Team. She was the recipient of the New York Times Fellowship for Journalists at the Columbia Law School in 1992 and is a member of the Connecticut bar. She is the coauthor of three books centered on crimes in sports: American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime, The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History’s Most Desired Baseball Card, and American Huckster: How Chuck Blazer Got Rich From—and Sold Out—the Most Powerful Cabal in World Sports.
WRIGHT THOMPSON is a senior writer for ESPN: The Magazine.
DON VAN NATTA JR. is a senior writer for ESPN: The Magazine and ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in January 2012 after 16 years as a New York Times correspondent based in Washington, London, Miami, and New York. A member of three Pulitzer Prize–winning teams, Van Natta is the author of First Off the Tee and the coauthor of Her Way—both New York Times best-sellers—and Wonder Girl. He’s now writing a book about the modern-day NFL with his friend and colleague, Seth Wickersham. He lives in Miami with his wife, Lizette Alvarez, who is a Times correspondent, and their two daughters. This is his fourth appearance in The Best American Sports Writing.
DAVE ZIRIN is the sports editor for The Nation—their first in 150 years of existence—and a columnist for SLAM magazin
e and The Progressive. Zirin hosts the podcast Edge of Sports and cohosts the radio program The Collision: Sports and Politics with Etan Thomas and Dave Zirin. He is the author of nine books on the politics of sports. His latest is Last Man Standing: Jim Brown and the Price of Legend.
Notable Sports Writing of 2016
Selected by Glenn Stout
JONATHAN ABRAMS
Pop’s First Rodeo. Bleacher Report, November 14
MATHEW AKENY
Money Fame Glory. Gear Patrol, issue 3
DONNELL ALEXANDER
I Remember Mamba. Eephus, April 13
DAVID AMSDEN
Gridiron Gangster. Rolling Stone, November 28
KEVIN ARMSTRONG
After the Catch. New York Daily News, October 16
KEVIN ARNOVITZ
The Official Coming-Out Party. ESPN.com, October 12
HUNTER ATKINS
How Do You Make It in the NFL? Houston Chronicle, December 18
TODD BALF
The Way Back. Yankee, October
CHRIS BALLARD
Out from the Darkness. Sports Illustrated, September 21
ZACH BARON
Cam Newton on Everything. GQ, August
AMOS BARSHAD
Why Are the Soccer Hooligans of Argentina Killing Each Other? Fader, June
TIMOTHY BELLA
Recovery Speed. The Ringer, November 23
CHARLES BETHEA
The Misunderstanding of J. R. Smith. The New Yorker, October 13
BRIAN BLICKENSTAFF
The Rise and Fall of Gerd Bonk. Vice Sports, August 10
STAYTON BONNER
Champion of the Underworld. Men’s Journal, March
TAFFY BRODESSER-AKNER
Tennis Lessons. Racquet, Autumn
SARAH BRYAN
The Life and Death of the Father of Miniature Golf. Southern Review, Winter
HOWARD BRYANT
The Unspoken Truth. ESPN: The Magazine, June 6
MONTE BURKE
The Heart of an Angler. Garden & Gun, August/September
BRYAN BURROUGH
Field of Nightmares. Vanity Fair, November
BRIN-JONATHAN BUTLER
Farewell, Champions of Havana. Roads & Kingdoms, September 30
DAVID CARAVIELLO
Basketball Celebrity. Charleston Post and Courier, June 26
KELLEY L. CARTER
Misty Copeland En Pointe. The Undefeated, December 14
DANNY CHAU
Be Like Steph? The Ringer, June 1
JORDAN RITTER CONN
The Fevered Dream of a Freedom Fighter. ESPN: The Magazine, June 6
MATT CROSSMAN
Iron Will. ESPN.com, November 20
CHUCK CULPEPPER
Middle Eastern Women Were Once Discouraged from Sport. Washington Post, July 11
WAYNE DREHS
I Postponed Open-Heart Surgery for the Cubs. ESPN.com, November 4
PIA Z. EHRHARDT
The Thunder and the Hurricane. Oxford American, May
TIM EVANS, MARK ALESIA, AND MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
A 20-Year Toll. Indianapolis Star, December 15
MIRIN FADER
Make Way for 11-Year-Old Pro Skateboarder Brighton Zeuner. espnW.com, June 1
KATE FAGAN
Katie Ledecky Is Crushing Records, So Why Are We All Still Worried About Caster Semenya? ESPN.com, August 13
BONNIE FORD
Out of the Blue. ESPN.com, July 29
BRETT FORREST AND JON FISH
Pin Kings. ESPN.com, August 18
SCOTT FOWLER
Rae Carruth’s Son Will Be at the Prison Gates When Father Who Wanted Him Dead Goes Free. Charlotte Observer, October 21
BEN FOWLKES
Boy Among Men. MMAJunkie.com, April 29
LEW FREEDMAN
Butler’s Andrew Smith Dies Way Too Soon. Basketball Times, February
PETER FRICK-WRIGHT
How Jogging in Burundi Became an Act of War. Outside, March
LINDSAY GIBBS
Then and Now: Cam Newton and the Ongoing Plight of the Black Quarterback. Think Progress, February 3
MICHAEL GRAFF
Mustang Green. Charlotte Magazine, February/March/April
LATRIA GRAHAM
Black Hills Powwow Competitors Dance with an Added Urgency. ESPN.com, November 7
TIM GRAHAM
Who Do You Think You Are? Bjorn Nitmo? Buffalo News, September 1
DAN GREENE
Whatever Happened to “The Worst Boxer in the History of the World”? SI.com, August 1
WILLARD GREENWOOD
Ditch Pigs. The Drake, Fall
SEAN GREGORY
The Perilous Fight. Time, October 3
ERIK HALL
174 LGBT Athletes from Power Five Conference Schools Have Come Out Publicly. OutSports, October 11
MICHAEL HARDY
Gold Rush. Texas Monthly, June
JUSTIN HECKERT
“Gosh, It’s Beautiful.” ESPN: The Magazine, December 2
ALEX HUTCHINSON AND AMBY BURFOOT
The Runner’s Heart. Runner’s World, October
LEE JENKINS
Lebron James. Sports Illustrated, December 19
DEVIN KELLY
Full Count. Profane Journal, Winter
TIM KEOWN
Colin Kaepernick Is a Real American. ESPN: The Magazine, October 4
MINA KIMES
The Art of Letting Go. ESPN: The Magazine, October 4
SHAUN KING
Dear White America, Which Form of Protest Do You Actually Prefer? New York Daily News, September 2
MARTY KLINKENBERG
Fred Sasakamoose. Toronto Globe and Mail, December 28
DAN KOEPPEL
Impact Zone. Outside, September
MARIA KONNIKOVA
The Superhero Genes. California Sunday Magazine, August 7
KATHERINE LAIDLAW
This Will End Well. The Walrus, April 21
JORDAN LARIMORE
Head Games. Joplin Globe, August 28
ANDREW LAWRENCE
The Drive of Alon Day. Sports Illustrated, October 27
LAURA LEGGE
Who’s on First? Sport Literate, Summer
TUCKER LEIGHTY-PHILLIPS
Soccer’s Ultimate Con Man Was a Superstar Who Couldn’t Play the Game. Atlas Obscura, August 19
ROBERT LIPSYTE
Ali. Time, June 20
SARAH LYALL
Swim. Bike. Cheat? New York Times, April 10
JEREMY MARKOVICH
A Long Way to the Sea. Our State, November
THOMAS PAGE MCBEE
Why Men Fight. QZ.com, February 11
JOHN MCDERMOTT
The Largest Football Player on Earth. MEL, January 11
TOM MCGRATH
The Last Boys’ Club. Philadelphia, August
DANIEL MCGRAW
The Forgotten Fastest Man. The Undefeated, July 12
DAVE MCKENNA
The Writer Who Was Too Strong to Live. Deadspin, October
MICHAEL MCKNIGHT
The Slow Descent of Houston McTear. Sports Illustrated, August 4
GREG MELVILLE
Mike Sherman’s Fifth Quarter. Boston Magazine, February
ELIZABETH MERRILL
Joe Thomas’ 9,684 Straight Shifts in the Factory of Sadness. ESPN.com, December 7
MAGGIE MERTENS
Weather It All. Vice Sports, September 30
KATHRYN MILES
Marathon Man. Down East, November
DAVE MONDY
And We’ll See You Tomorrow Night. Cincinnati Review, Winter
MICHAEL J. MOONEY
Weekend at Johnny’s. B/R Mag, April 29
OMAR MOUALLEM
The Rise and Fall of Wrestling’s Weed-Dealing, Cat-Breeding Phenom. Rolling Stone, March 23
AUSTIN MURPHY
Endgame. Sports Illustrated, August 29/September 5
MATTHEW MUSPRAT
T
Africa’s Talent Is Obscure but Apparent. New York Times, August 29
GREG O’BRIEN
Outrunning the Demons. Runner’s World, January/February
LONNAE O’NEAL
The Difficulty of Being Simone Biles. ESPN: The Magazine, July 6
STEVE ONEY
Old Men and Young Bucks. The Bitter Southerner, August 18
CHARLES P. PIERCE
The Essential American. Sports Illustrated, June 13
SCOTT M. REID
Strides of Courage. Orange County Register, June 17
BEN REITER
Ken Griffey Awaits His Sendoff. Sports Illustrated, June 29
RANDY ROBERTS AND JOHNNY SMITH
Present at Creation. The Ring, May/July
TIM ROHAN
Matt Patricia, Belichick’s Rocket Scientist. MMQB.com, November 29
BRET ROSE
Desperate Straits. Deadspin, May 23
DAVY ROTHBART
Mount Impossible. GQ, May
PETER RUGG
The Man Who Made the Whac-A-Mole Has One More Chance. Popular Mechanics, February 3
AMANDA RUGGIERI
The View from the Hahnenkamm. Powder, January 25
ALBERT SAMAHA
Deonte Hoard Was the 53rd of 489 Homicide Victims in Chicago Last Year. Buzzfeed, May 19
MARIN SARDY
Lightening, or Feathers. Tin House, Summer
LEANDER SCHAERLAEKENS
The Johnny and Tara Show Is the Main Event. SB Nation, April 14
JOHN SCHEINMAN
Andrew Beyer: Rebel with a Cause. PaulickReport.com, November 13
MIKE SIELSKI
Two Bucks County Boys Suffered Concussions. Philadelphia Inquirer, December 22
