Washington Post’s Sports Section Retires, Leaves Fans To Argue With Influencers
KEY POINTS
- •The Washington Post closed its sports section, joining a decade-long trend of cuts across iconic sports media.
- •ESPN ended Grantland in 2015, ESPN the Magazine in 2019, and launched the influencer-driven Creator Network to chase new audiences.
- •Fans rely increasingly on social media, podcasts, and gambling apps to get sports news, as players directly shape their public stories.
In a move more brutal than a last-second buzzer beater, the Washington Post killed its sports section, slapping an L on one of media's once-glorious jewels. This comes after a decade-long massacre; Sports Illustrated and Sporting News have been hollowed out like sad nachos, ESPN threw in the towel on Grantland (2015) and their mag (2019), and the New York Times killed sports coverage post its 2022 Athletic acquisition. Fans now feast on podcasts, gambling apps, and social media where players ghostwrite their own stories—because who wouldn’t want to hear athletes spin headlines instead of reporters risking reputations? ESPN pivoted to influencer clout like a gym rat chasing gains, launching the Creator Network amidst all this chaos. The sports media ecosystem survives, but with fewer stories and more hot takes, like the media world somehow became the sports equivalent of karaoke night.
Share the Story
Journalists got benched, players took the mic, and fans now digest curated athlete tweets instead of honest scoops. The game's changed but nobody’s winning.
Sports journalism phased out faster than your fantasy pick after one dreaded injury report. RIP beat reporters, you served us well.
Who needs reporters when athletes give us Netflix doc specials and Instagram reels? Welcome to sports media 2.0: athlete influencers with PR departments.
Source: Axios | Published: 2/8/2026 | Author: Neal Rothschild
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