When it comes to sports media writers of the 2000s, Richard Deitsch has been one of the most consistent and influential. And as 2025 comes to a close, the longtime reporter, writer, and podcaster has announced that he is leaving The Athletic.
Deitsch worked for Sports Illustrated for decades covering the Olympics, women’s basketball, and other sports. But he made arguably his biggest impact as one of the leading voices covering the sports media beat for a new generation of coverage. In many ways, he’s helped lead the sports media beat into the mainstream with others like John Ourand, Andrew Marchand, Daniel Kaplan, the retiring Neil Best, and many others as they carried the torch forward from USA Today’s Rudy Martzke. He’s also been a good friend of Awful Announcing, appearing on multiple podcasts and collaborations over the years.
In 2018, Deitsch moved from Sports Illustrated to The Athletic where he continued covering the industry. He also moved to Toronto to do sports talk radio north of the border.
In a post on X, Deitsch said that his time at the digital outlet has come to an end, but that he has new ventures lined up on both sides of the border coming in 2026. He also states that he will continue hosting his sports media podcast as it exists outside the universe of The Athletic.
The Athletic will still have dedicated sports media coverage with Andrew Marchand on board. Hopefully Deitsch will continue on the sports media beat as there is more interest in the industry than ever before and more outlets dedicated to serving that interest.
Richard Deitsch has given us plenty of entertainment and insights over the years, whether it was his epic Twitter battles with Darren Rovell or starting a global movement of people sharing a photo of their best moments. We’ll see where it continues in 2026.
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