The Athletic Tells Its Staff to Shut Up About Politics And Stick to Sports

The Athletic on Twitter

Sports news website The Athletic reportedly gave its staff a message last week when it comes to expressing political views: Shut up and stick to sports.

Paul Fichtenbaum, the publication’s chief content officer, announced the new rule, according to The Defector’s Laura Wagner, who first reported on Thursday about the change.

Fichtenbaum gave an example to staff about what is and isn’t political:

We don’t want to stop people from having a voice and raising their voice for appropriate issues. But there comes a point where something that is a straightforward, “Hey, I’m concerned about guns in America,” for instance, right, that’s an apolitical statement. It becomes political when you say, “I’m concerned about guns in America and this political party is the reason why we’re having an issue,” right? That’s when it tips over. So again, we don’t want to stop people from having a voice and expressing themselves. We just need to keep it from tipping over into the political space.

A staffer at The Athletic blasted the new rule to The Defector, saying that it “makes no sense.”

“What about Black Lives Matter? Is that a social cause? Who will write about athlete protests? What about trans athletes in sports?” said the staff member. “Where this policy gets you is that the people who care the most about a particular issue, the people who are most informed about a particular issue, are now the ones who are banned from covering the issue.”

The New York Times acquired The Athletic in January for $550 million. The Athletic was founded in 2016 and covers sports in major sports marketplaces in the United States and Canada as an attempt to replace local sports journalism.