The 19th launched as a nonprofit newsroom covering politics and policy through the lens of gender and race. We’re ready to expand our coverage to one of the most intersectional elements of American culture: women’s sports. When The 19th began in 2020, the sports world was rattled by a growing pandemic.
Though many leagues and tournaments were able to make COVID contingency plans, the NCAA’s March Madness was canceled. In May, when the league typically tips off, all eyes went to the WNBA. Behind the scenes, officials and the players’ union negotiated how to safely operate under COVID.
But players had another priority when it came to their return to the court. Two other national tragedies weighed heavily on the nation: the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police. The W kicked off its delayed opener in July 2020 at Florida’s IMG Academy, where the entire league would create a bubble for the season.
The “Wubble,” as it would come to be known, was just as much about social justice as it was about the return of basketball. That season, players’ warm-up shirts read “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. Six years later The 19th continues to interrogate who gets to hold power, who doesn’t and what decisions actually mean for people’s lives.
Sports was not in our immediate game plan (sorry), but over the years it has become more evident how much stories like the WNBA’s social justice season, the fight for equal pay and the politicization of trans athletes belonged in our coverage. We’re launching a sports desk. We’ve grown in how we reach people: We’re in your inbox, in your feeds and increasingly on video, meeting audiences where they already are.
That evolution has made us look hard at where our audience’s interests are going next, and where our journalism can fill a gap no one else is meeting. In all of our beats, we strive to make our journalism distinct from the work of other newsrooms. We want to bring that spirit to sports coverage.
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