Louisa Thomas
@louisathomas.bsky.social
New Yorker staff writer (The Sporting Scene), author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams, etc.
wrote about athletes + politics www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
What We Expect Athletes to Say Now
Not long ago, taking political stands almost seemed to become part of the job. These days, in another moment of social crisis, expectations have shifted.
www.newyorker.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:10 PM
wrote about athletes + politics www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
wrote about the remarkable Amanda Anisimova www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Amanda Anisimova’s Resilient Return
After stepping away from the game in 2023, the tennis star had a dream run at Wimbledon last year end with a humiliating defeat in the final. But it’s the clarity of her confidence that continues to d...
www.newyorker.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:31 PM
wrote about the remarkable Amanda Anisimova www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Wrote about Indiana football www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
How a Sixtysomething Coach from a So-So School Turned Indiana into World-Beaters
Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers on the verge of a national championship. Everyone wants to know the blueprint for his stunning success.
www.newyorker.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Wrote about Indiana football www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
wrote about Aaron Rodgers, football's Rorschach test www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Aaron Rodgers, Football’s Rorschach Quarterback
The Pittsburgh Steelers gambled on the forty-two-year-old, one of the N.F.L.’s most polarizing players, to try to end their playoff disappointments. Will it pay off?
www.newyorker.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM
wrote about Aaron Rodgers, football's Rorschach test www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
wrote about Trinity Rodman and the NWSL at a crossroads www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Can Professional Women’s Soccer in the U.S. Keep Up with the Global Market?
The ability of the National Women’s Soccer League to retain Trinity Rodman, one of its biggest stars, could determine its future.
www.newyorker.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM
wrote about Trinity Rodman and the NWSL at a crossroads www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Come for my sadness! Stay for the brilliant insights of some great writers.
the BASKETBALL FEELINGS FEELING OF THE YEAR returns! friends and contributors share the moments, people and memories that stood out to them most in basketball and beyond for 2025
The Basketball Feelings Feeling of the Year (FOTY), 2025
The annual year-in-review of the moments, people and memories that stood out to BASKETBALL FEELINGS friends and contributors.
www.basketballfeelings.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Come for my sadness! Stay for the brilliant insights of some great writers.
wrote about my infirmities! and philip rivers. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Watching Philip Rivers Play Football Makes Me Feel Old
He and I are the same age, but only one of us is an N.F.L. quarterback.
www.newyorker.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
wrote about my infirmities! and philip rivers. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
"There is something a little deranged about hearing Mazzulla talk about love." Excellent piece by @louisathomas.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
How the Celtics Are Winning
A team that once could seem a little bloodless has, in the absence of its best player, become scrappy and slightly unpredictable.
www.newyorker.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:58 PM
"There is something a little deranged about hearing Mazzulla talk about love." Excellent piece by @louisathomas.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
The FIFA Peace Prize ceremony at the World Cup Draw, with its blatant political pandering, was one of the more embarrassing episodes even in the history of an organization famously rife with fraud and corruption, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
The Weird Spectacle of the World Cup Draw
At the event, the matchups seemed beside the point, eclipsed by FIFA’s bizarre Peace Prize ceremony for Donald Trump and other cringey moments.
www.newyorker.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The FIFA Peace Prize ceremony at the World Cup Draw, with its blatant political pandering, was one of the more embarrassing episodes even in the history of an organization famously rife with fraud and corruption, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
wrote about the nba‘s injury crisis + fun fast-paced play www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
The N.B.A.’s Breakneck Momentum
Are the higher speed and intensity that have made the game so fun to watch the very forces that are sidelining its stars with injuries?
www.newyorker.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:21 AM
wrote about the nba‘s injury crisis + fun fast-paced play www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Wrote about everyone’s favorite topic (or maybe only mine), punters www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
The Odd, Shifting Role of the N.F.L. Punter
He is the vestigial organ of a football team, a remnant of the time before the forward pass. And yet, now and again, he can be vitally important.
www.newyorker.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Wrote about everyone’s favorite topic (or maybe only mine), punters www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Wrote about my local nfl team www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
The New New England Patriots
The team lately seems to have found that elusive balance of confidence and calm, accountability and community. Where did it come from?
www.newyorker.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Wrote about my local nfl team www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
Join us for a conversation about football, monuments and memory on Nov. 18. Authors Kevin Tallec Marston and Mike Cronin of “Inventing the Boston Game” will take on sports, myths, and Boston Brahmins in conversation with @louisathomas.bsky.social. Register here: www.masshist.org/events/inven...
November 12, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Join us for a conversation about football, monuments and memory on Nov. 18. Authors Kevin Tallec Marston and Mike Cronin of “Inventing the Boston Game” will take on sports, myths, and Boston Brahmins in conversation with @louisathomas.bsky.social. Register here: www.masshist.org/events/inven...
wrote about Old Testament-y Durant, NBA narratives, gambling, etc. linked below
October 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
wrote about Old Testament-y Durant, NBA narratives, gambling, etc. linked below
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
Friday night’s game between the Dodgers and the Brewers will be remembered for a long time—in large part owing to Shohei Ohtani’s inimitable, Bunyanesque feats, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers Are a Sight to Behold
Haters may complain about payroll disparities, but you can’t love baseball and not stand in awe watching perhaps the greatest player who has ever lived.
https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/shohei-ohtani-and-the-dodgers-are-a-sight-to-behold?utm_mediu[…]e=owned&utm_source=bluesky&mbid=social_bluesky&utm_brand=tny
October 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Friday night’s game between the Dodgers and the Brewers will be remembered for a long time—in large part owing to Shohei Ohtani’s inimitable, Bunyanesque feats, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
Helen Garner, renowned for her unsparing novels and journalism, has penned a sonorous tribute to her grandson and his sport, Australian-rules football, that looks at masculinity in epic terms, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
Helen Garner’s Ode to Her Grandson and His Sport
“The Season: A Fan’s Story” paints Australian-rules football in epic, manly terms, with a bard’s sonorous cadence.
www.newyorker.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Helen Garner, renowned for her unsparing novels and journalism, has penned a sonorous tribute to her grandson and his sport, Australian-rules football, that looks at masculinity in epic terms, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
wrote about sport www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Helen Garner’s Ode to Her Grandson and His Sport
“The Season: A Fan’s Story” paints Australian-rules football in epic, manly terms, with a bard’s sonorous cadence.
www.newyorker.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
wrote about sport www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
Quarterbacks manage such a distinctively American mix of violence and spectacle, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes. There is “no one who is exposed to such risk of public failure week after week.”
Consider the Quarterback
The position is a uniquely American institution—a calling, connected to foundational myths about leadership and manhood. Why does it matter so much?
www.newyorker.com
September 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Quarterbacks manage such a distinctively American mix of violence and spectacle, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes. There is “no one who is exposed to such risk of public failure week after week.”
wrote about the terrific new book by @SethWickersham and the essential quality of the quarterback www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Consider the Quarterback
The position is a uniquely American institution—a calling, connected to foundational myths about leadership and manhood. Why does it matter so much?
www.newyorker.com
September 7, 2025 at 12:33 PM
wrote about the terrific new book by @SethWickersham and the essential quality of the quarterback www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
Coco Gauff is not the first top tennis player to change her service motion in the past couple years. But she’s doing it under the microscope of the press and fans during the U.S. Open—her biggest tournament of the year, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
Coco Gauff’s Long Game
The tennis star has been fixing her flawed serve at the U.S. Open, subjecting herself to the exquisite torture of public scrutiny.
www.newyorker.com
August 31, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Coco Gauff is not the first top tennis player to change her service motion in the past couple years. But she’s doing it under the microscope of the press and fans during the U.S. Open—her biggest tournament of the year, @louisathomas.bsky.social writes.
checked in with the Mets www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
The Dog Days of New York Baseball
The Mets are Metsing, for better and worse.
www.newyorker.com
August 24, 2025 at 7:24 PM
checked in with the Mets www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
wrote about Luka www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
What Is Lost in Luka Dončić’s Glow-Up
The rebrand of the Los Angeles Laker—who appeared on the cover of Men’s Health looking lean, buff, and bronze—makes sense. That doesn’t make it less sad.
www.newyorker.com
August 3, 2025 at 12:18 PM
wrote about Luka www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
wrote about Sinner, Alcaraz, and Wimbledon www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Wimbledon in the Age of Sincaraz
Jannik Sinner avenged his loss at the French Open with a commanding victory over Carlos Alcaraz, in the latest chapter of a transcendent rivalry.
www.newyorker.com
July 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
wrote about Sinner, Alcaraz, and Wimbledon www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
Reposted by Louisa Thomas
This @louisathomas.bsky.social exploration of how to think about Lia Thomas’s participation in women’s swimming is careful and nuanced. Worth a read in light of the U Penn news. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...
The Trans Swimmer Who Won Too Much
Lia Thomas is not the first trans swimmer in the N.C.A.A., but her victories have put her at the center of a debate about trans athletes.
www.newyorker.com
July 1, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This @louisathomas.bsky.social exploration of how to think about Lia Thomas’s participation in women’s swimming is careful and nuanced. Worth a read in light of the U Penn news. www.newyorker.com/sports/sport...