Will Leitch Author Archive
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Will Leitch

Contributing Editor

Will Leitch has been a contributing editor at New York since 2008, covering sports and film. He is the author of six books, including the Edgar-nominated novel How Lucky and The Time Has Come.

  1. games
    What Happens When the World’s Most Famous Athlete Is Accused of Rape?Five divergent scenarios are possible for Cristiano Ronaldo — and each means something very different for the future of sports in the age of #MeToo.
  2. games
    Along With Everything Else, Brett Kavanaugh Is an Obnoxious JockWatching the hearings felt like listening to a post-game press conference.
  3. games
    What Fresh Hell Is Barstool Sports?And did I have anything to do with bringing it about?
  4. vulture lists
    Every Michael Moore Movie, RankedDocumenting the filmmaker’s best work.
  5. games
    This Football Play Didn’t Just Trick the Other Team, It Gamed the Rule BookNow look for a lot of coaches to take advantage of new safety rules this way.
  6. games
    After the U.S. Open, Maybe We Should Just Abolish Umps?The upside of human referees is almost nonexistent, but the downside is the possibility of Serena vs. Ramos.
  7. games
    How Nike Got All the Way to Lionizing Colin KaepernickHint: It’s not really about politics.
  8. games
    It Might Be Impossible to Be an Ethical Sports FanWhat should we do when good players are bad people?
  9. games
    The Sports Miracle Named SerenaShe’s 37 years old and occupying a nearly unprecedented role in professional athletics. Go see her play at the U.S. Open—you’ll be very glad you did.
  10. games
    Why Aren’t We Talking About Football’s Culture of Brutality?The environment which led to the death of a Maryland college football player in practice isn’t an aberration. It’s normal.
  11. games
    Welcome to Our New Gambling Hell, Sports FansThe Supreme Court has just unleashed misery on the average viewer.
  12. games
    Why It’s So Hard to Give Up the Dream of a Tiger Woods ComebackHe came close this past weekend, and the world went nuts.
  13. games
    It Looks Like We Are Now, Officially, Over Steroid PanicWhat were we even freaking out about in the first place?
  14. games
    Nobody’s Going to Sports in Person Anymore. And No One Seems to Care.Which may be because it’s all by design.
  15. games
    The Sports World Needs Its #MeToo MomentUnfortunately, when fans don’t care, executives certainly won’t.
  16. games
    The NBA Draft Is Great. It’s Also Totally Un-American.Sports have some really unfortunate ideas about competition, free markets, and labor, it turns out.
  17. games
    Missing the World Cup Is Like Detention for the United StatesSomehow it fits that America missed the tournament for the first time in a generation.
  18. games
    The Case Against Instant Replay — All Instant ReplayThe technology was supposed to make sports simpler. Instead, it’s become something else to argue about.
  19. games
    Roger Goodell Is the Prototypical Trump EnablerThe NFL commissioner, an empty suit staring into the middle distance, just keeps making everything worse for everyone.
  20. games
    The NBA Has Never Had More Soap Opera and Rivalry – and It’s FantasticWith the championship matchup all but decided, player beefs keep basketball thrilling.
  21. Every Al Pacino Performance, RankedWe ranked every Al Pacino performance, from Scarface to Scent of a Woman.
  22. games
    Baseball’s Very Tepid Offseason Is Finally OverWhy was there so much less free-agent activity this year? Moneyball.
  23. how to raise a boy
    What Should I Teach My Sons?The masculine scripts of previous generations seem especially problematic today, in a world run by the aggressive and the bullying.
  24. games
    How Do You Watch the Olympics in the Shadow of Nuclear Apocalypse?If you thought Putin’s 2014 Games were scary, wait until you put an Olympic Games less than 50 miles from the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
  25. vulture lists
    Every James Franco Performance, RankedFrom The Disaster Artist to Spring Breakers.
  26. games
    Is This the End of the NFL?Just a few years ago, it was an unassailable empire. Now, suddenly, it’s the fall of Rome.
  27. vulture lists
    Every Samuel L. Jackson Performance, Ranked From Worst to BestIn honor of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, we rank every Samuel L. Jackson role, from Shaft to Snakes on a Plane.
  28. games
    It Seems Like Sports Can’t Sink Lower Than Mayweather-McGregor. But Just Wait.When you have nothing to sell, sell the racism, sell the hate.
  29. games
    Injury Was Inevitable for Noah SyndergaardBaseball asks the impossible of pitchers like him.
  30. games
    By Staying Silent, Roger Goodell and the NFL Have Come Out on TopHow the league’s arch-villain beat back a very loud chorus of critics.
  31. games
    New York Sports Fans Have Learned to Love the Fire Sale and Embrace LosingFor one season, anyway.
  32. games
    ESPN’s Eight-Hour O.J. Documentary Is a MasterpieceO.J.: Made in America is going to blow your mind.
  33. games
    The Mets and Cubs Are League Favorites. Could This Possibly Be Real?It’s opening day and the Mets and Cubs are league favorites, hard as that is to believe.
  34. games
    In the Future of Sports Fandom, State Lines Mean NothingThe St. Louis Rams are decamping for Los Angeles. Who cares?
  35. games
    What the Jets, Knicks, and Mets Have to Teach Us About FandomWith their newfound prudence, they’re teaching us what’s so great about being just okay.
  36. Movies Starring Real-Life Couples, Ranked From Worst to BestFrom Bennifer to Eyes Wide Shut.
  37. the sports section
    How the Mets Conquered DoomThis is what Mets fans had been so desperate for. This is why they all stuck around.
  38. the sports section
    Is a Subway Series Too Much to Ask?It’s been a miracle season for both Mets and Yankees.
  39. the sports section
    The Cardinals’ Hacking Scandal Has Brought Sports Into the Surveillance EraAfter a century or more of semi-comic continuity, cheating has changed.
  40. the sports section
    Once America Got Interested in Soccer, FIFA Was ScrewedThe silver lining to the scandal: By comparison, it makes our pro leagues look downright angelic.
  41. the sports section
    Enjoy Winning While You Can, Mets FansIn very short order, New York will be the Yankees’ town again.
  42. the sports section
    Can Baseball’s New Commissioner Actually Change the Game?For Rob Manfred, the clock starts now.
  43. the sports section
    Why Teams of Nobodies Are Ruling the NBA This YearThe best teams are the ones without superstars. How’d that happen?
  44. the sports section
    The NBA’s Golden Age of Gonzo Innovation Is ComingJust how preposterous is four-on-five basketball?
  45. games
    Michele Roberts, the Hero of Progressive Sports“My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.”
  46. the sports section
    What Bud Selig Hath Wrought — and Not Just in BaseballHe forever changed what it means to be a sports commissioner.
  47. the sports section
    From Mo’ne Davis to Michael Sam, the Culture Wars Have Invaded the Sports WorldTalking football is suddenly a whole lot less fun.
  48. the sports section
    8 NFL Story Lines We Won’t Be Able to Turn Away From This SeasonDespite our better judgment.
  49. the sports section
    Why Fans Are Now More Into Free-Agent Negotiations Than GamesIt used to be that talk and analysis were the pregame, the preparation for game action. Suddenly, it’s the other way around.
  50. baseball
    Billy Beane’s Ascendant A’s Are Playing a Brand-New Brand of MoneyballHe has a new bag of tricks, and the team is on top again.
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