Lets Talk About Drew Magary

[InstaFace]

I just rewatched the trailer and it was called "Top Happy Spa" and there was Asian characters on the sign. This is not the Snake Canyon leap that you think it is. BTW, a cloning facility is not a real thing.

"They should have just known it was a cloning facility without any sort of backstory! That's just obvious!" Are you being serious now?

And BTW, I think that Lose is right. Brady is probably angry at the producers, but can't yell at them publicly.

The day this came out, I saw multiple articles that explained the full story and the joke. There were posts about how "the producers did Brady dirty" because they re-framed the green-screen shot to be a seedy asian spa at a strip mall, out of a universe of options. And they went on to explain that it was a facility where they got clones made that are a better version of themselves.

Somebody was out there doing the homework to explain the backstory. The facts were out there. Anyone presenting it without context wasn't being merely lazy or operating in an absence of knowledge of what the joke was, they were misleading people for the sake of clicks and anti-Patriots sentiment.

 

[joe dokes]

The day this came out, I saw multiple articles that explained the full story and the joke. There were posts about how "the producers did Brady dirty" because they re-framed the green-screen shot to be a seedy asian spa at a strip mall, out of a universe of options. And they went on to explain that it was a facility where they got clones made that are a better version of themselves.

Somebody was out there doing the homework to explain the backstory. The facts were out there. Anyone presenting it without context wasn't being merely lazy or operating in an absence of knowledge of what the joke was, they were misleading people for the sake of clicks and anti-Patriots sentiment.

I didn;t know about it. And I'll venture to guess at least as "up on things" as whoever was asking Brady about it.
Christ. Brady's a weird guy. He gave what was, at best, a weird answer where none was called for. They weren't "misleading people for the sake of anti Patriots sentiment" anymore than I was when I said to my wife, "wow. what was he thinking there." They probably just didn't know.

Brady is not "obligated to do their work for them." Just as I'm not obligated to not tell a stranger that they looked like they got dressed in the dark after they stole the clothes off a homeless person. But in this case his answer sounded dickish, and made it easy fodder for those who, like Magary, can spin 75% of a column out of Patriot and their fans caricatures.

 

[lexrageorge]

I didn;t know about it. And I'll venture to guess at least as "up on things" as whoever was asking Brady about it.
Christ. Brady's a weird guy. He gave what was, at best, a weird answer where none was called for. They weren't "misleading people for the sake of anti Patriots sentiment" anymore than I was when I said to my wife, "wow. what was he thinking there." They probably just didn't know.

Brady is not "obligated to do their work for them." Just as I'm not obligated to not tell a stranger that they looked like they got dressed in the dark after they stole the clothes off a homeless person. But in this case his answer sounded dickish, and made it easy fodder for those who, like Magary, can spin 75% of a column out of Patriot and their fans caricatures.

A reporter asking Brady about the video should have been more informed than just having watch the 30 second clip. So Brady was right to tell the reporter off.

 

[kenneycb]

I didn;t know about it. And I'll venture to guess at least as "up on things" as whoever was asking Brady about it.
Christ. Brady's a weird guy. He gave what was, at best, a weird answer where none was called for. They weren't "misleading people for the sake of anti Patriots sentiment" anymore than I was when I said to my wife, "wow. what was he thinking there." They probably just didn't know.

Brady is not "obligated to do their work for them." Just as I'm not obligated to not tell a stranger that they looked like they got dressed in the dark after they stole the clothes off a homeless person. But in this case his answer sounded dickish, and made it easy fodder for those who, like Magary, can spin 75% of a column out of Patriot and their fans caricatures.

He's probably sick about all the ways people have tried to disparage him and/or his character in the last ~5 years, much of it unfounded (some of it not) or having little to do with football. The weirdest thing about him (that is public knowledge, at least) is the TB12 stuff. Every many has his breaking point. Off the top of my head:

- Deflategate
- Wickersham
- Guerrero
- Selling his house / he wants to leave
- The extension stuff this offseason
- This stuff

And I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting. So this isn't an isolated incident. Especially for a person fueled by slights.

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

He's probably sick about all the ways people have tried to disparage him and/or his character in the last ~5 years, much of it unfounded (some of it not) or having little to do with football. The weirdest thing about him (that is public knowledge, at least) is the TB12 stuff. Every many has his breaking point. Off the top of my head:

- Deflategate
- Wickersham
- Guerrero
- Selling his house / he wants to leave
- The extension stuff this offseason
- This stuff

And I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting. So this isn't an isolated incident. Especially for a person fueled by slights.

Add in the Best Buddies story by the Glob from a few years ago.

Hearing whatever EEI show it was asking him about the latest will he/won’t he had me feeling like you. We’ve got a QB that was expressing his desire to play until he’s 45 just a short time ago. Now everyone is saying it’s better than even odds that he will be retired or out of NE after this year. They’re (generic they, not EEI alone) going to ruin a good thing.

 

[InstaFace]

it'd be a lot better for EEI / etc ratings if the Patriots weren't the model franchise in all of sports, and also the fortress of solitude when it comes to getting any useful information or juicy stories. They want to ruin a good thing. Say what you will about Magary, he's not writing what he does because he's got some cynical financial stake in the Patriots' failure.

I still feel he's got the tone of an actual sports fan, the one Bill Simmons lost once Page 2 went down the tubes a bit around 2005. This is some trumped-up outrage, for sure, but there's a kernel of truth to some of it, and he's writing what he sincerely thinks.

 

[joe dokes]

it'd be a lot better for EEI / etc ratings if the Patriots weren't the model franchise in all of sports, and also the fortress of solitude when it comes to getting any useful information or juicy stories. They want to ruin a good thing. Say what you will about Magary, he's not writing what he does because he's got some cynical financial stake in the Patriots' failure.

I still feel he's got the tone of an actual sports fan, the one Bill Simmons lost once Page 2 went down the tubes a bit around 2005. This is some trumped-up outrage, for sure, but there's a kernel of truth to some of it, and he's writing what he sincerely thinks.

Thats the best description yet of all this. It isn't easy to be trumped-up, with a kernel of truth, and sincere all at the same time, and stil remain a sports fan. Many (most?) can only handle one of those things at a time.

 

[dirtynine]

Least Influential People of the Decade is pretty good bitter Magary.

 

[InstaFace]

Yeah I mean, if you need no other reason to read it, he went after Cap'n Jetes...

Derek Jeter
Jeter retired in 2014 after spending two decades as the most overrated player in baseball. Since then, he has busied himself by being the 87th rich asshole to gut the Miami Marlins for seemingly no reason, walled himself inside a Tampa mansion (of ALL the places you could choose to live…) that looks like a discount Sandals resort, and launched an online repository of spiffed-up press releases for pro athletes that, just this year, was sold to the kind of holding company that loves to acquire brands without actually giving a shit about WHY those brands are valuable. He also likes to sit in his office and look at iPads.

That last link is pretty spiffy, in a zombie-deadspin sort of way.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

View: https://twitter.com/drewmagary/status/1218192880931610625?s=20


This is what I mean about Deadspin becoming tiresome because to them everything sucked. Imagine watching sports from this POV. And he's not really joking around, he means it.

 

[jose melendez]

Isn't Andy Reid kind of an awful person off the football field? I remember something about him being a terrible father.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Well his son killed himself after years of drug problems and Reid himself self-labelled as a bad father, so yeah.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

View: https://twitter.com/drewmagary/status/1218192880931610625?s=20


This is what I mean about Deadspin becoming tiresome because to them everything sucked. Imagine watching sports from this POV. And he's not really joking around, he means it.

IDK. It's his schtick. He's never going to like the Pats, ever. You either have to make peace with that, or you just have to cut him out of your life.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

It has nothing to do with the Pats. It's that he hates everything. Everything sucks, etc. It's exhausting.

 

[Hoya81]

It’s not just the Pats. His “Why your team sucks” series went from a collection of funny tailgate disasters and “Why am I cursed to root for these clowns” stories about each team to 32 screeds about being forced to share your fandom with skinheads etc.

 

[HowBoutDemSox]

He’s losing his fastball a bit if he’s including long time Patriot Mike Vrabel in a group he deems “least repellent.”

 

[JCizzle]

It has nothing to do with the Pats. It's that he hates everything. Everything sucks, etc. It's exhausting.

This was exactly my problem with the direction Deadspin took. Really smart people and writers, but constantly framing everything through a depressing, cynical lens. That’s what pushed me to read the Ringer more frequently - they tend to do most of their non Simmons content from a positive perspective. For example, it’s refreshing reading and listening to KOC who seems to just love the game of basketball.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

It has nothing to do with the Pats. It's that he hates everything. Everything sucks, etc. It's exhausting.

Agreed---this is why I have always been a bit puzzled by the adoration for him (and more broadly, Deadspin). There's some great content, and some interesting counter-big-media takes, but there's also a reactionary negativeism to it which (for me) got old years ago and is in its own way super-predictable.

I know some have the view that Deadspin and Magary were fresh and innovative and Ringer and Simmons were not and I guess I can't reconcile that with any reality about the people or the articles on the websites. But I also am of the view the reason Simmons survived and Deadspin didn't is he was able to adjust.

I guess to each their own.

 

[johnmd20]

This was exactly my problem with the direction Deadspin took. Really smart people and writers, but constantly framing everything through a depressing, cynical lens. That’s what pushed me to read the Ringer more frequently - they tend to do most of their non Simmons content from a positive perspective. For example, it’s refreshing reading and listening to KOC who seems to just love the game of basketball.

On the Ringer, KOC for Hoops, Kevin Clark for football. Both guys are brilliant with their knowledge, but also enjoyable to listen to. They are talented, positive, and smart. Magery is talented, cynical, and negative.

So I view Magery as someone to avoid. He's so supremely negative and snarky about everything and it's not funny anymore. It's literally exhausting. The energy he puts out is always down.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I know some have the view that Deadspin and Magary were fresh and innovative and Ringer and Simmons were not and I guess I can't reconcile that with any reality about the people or the articles on the websites. But I also am of the view the reason Simmons survived and Deadspin didn't is he was able to adjust.

This is a very, very, very charitable view of the situation.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

This is a very, very, very charitable view of the situation.

It’s certainly different than yours, but as documented previously it’s quite factual, with no charity required.

Among many other examples, I noted the shift to podcasting: if you’re keeping up in the news you realize now how valuable that adjustment was—and Simmons made it while Deadspin largely did not.

Art and business are different things. You can prefer Deadspin (or Magary’s) voice while also recognizing they haven’t changed or built a successful model.

 

[InstaFace]

I'm not sure an evaluation of the situation that doesn't take into account the fact that Deadspin failed to survive because (A) Daulerio got the ire of Peter Thiel who then sued the parent company into Bolivian, nor (B) the company that bought the parent company doesn't understand media businesses, can be called "Factual".

Deadspin's demise reflects exactly nothing about their choice of tone, content or writers, nor their embrace of innovation, nor even about their business acumen (it was profitable at the time when the SHTF). It reflects that their owners were presented with a $200M bill that was Gawker's fault.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

This was discussed at length earlier in the Deathread. Long story short, it’s unclear whether Deadapin was viable as a stand-alone entity (management team suggested it was, but a lot of reason to believe they didn’t pull out the benefits of broader Gawker network when making the claim) and we do know the people running it did not act as if it was viable post-firings.

That is not to excuse the last PE management team, who sucked by any criteria I can imagine.

Anyway, if people are into Magary’s approach it remains out there...

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

No Funbag on Vice.com this week. I wonder if Drew fell over again?

 

[Bunt4aTriple]

No Funbag on Vice.com this week. I wonder if Drew fell over again?

He tweeted that because of MLK day he'd put it up today.

 

[nattysez]

Just discovered that Magary self-published a new novel. Comparing his Twitter timeline to Shea Serrano's demonstrates an effective way to sell books (.pdfs, in Serrano's case) v. whatever Magary is doing. In any event, I'll throw $13 at Magary (via Amazon) -- I've spent more on worse.

 

[joe dokes]

Just discovered that Magary self-published a new novel. Comparing his Twitter timeline to Shea Serrano's demonstrates an effective way to sell books (.pdfs, in Serrano's case) v. whatever Magary is doing. In any event, I'll throw $13 at Magary (via Amazon) -- I've spent more on worse.

He had an excerpt on VICE last week.

 

[nattysez]

Magary's book is good. Needed one more round of editing, but pretty much in-line with his prior books in terms of quality. I'll be somewhat surprised if this one doesn't get optioned to be a movie.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

Just discovered that Magary self-published a new novel. Comparing his Twitter timeline to Shea Serrano's demonstrates an effective way to sell books (.pdfs, in Serrano's case) v. whatever Magary is doing. In any event, I'll throw $13 at Magary (via Amazon) -- I've spent more on worse.

Shea's also spent years developing this personality of giving, love, and solidarity across race and class. I buy everything he puts out sight unseen because I've full bought in to Shea as a person -- even if it means he floods my timeline every night trying to sell PDFs or books.

Edit: I also follow Magary, and I like him.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Magary absolutely and viciously unloads on Bill Simmons in SF Gate:

Bill Simmons has had this coming for a long time now.

Killing him for the "Open mic night quote" and much more.

So, in just eight simple words emailed to a reporter, he laid bare his open disdain for anyone who dares question how he goes about his business. In his own words, and in the paper of record, Simmons bitchily told the world that he's just another rich 50-year-old asshole now. Most concise bit of writing he's ever done.

 

[Kliq]

I mean, would we expect anything less? Simmons trending on Monday was probably the greatest day of Magary's life.

 

[luckiestman]

I mean, would we expect anything less? Simmons trending on Monday was probably the greatest day of Magary's life.

You really know you’ve made it when someone’s life is dedicated to hating you.

“Do you know who Drew Magary is?”

“Oh yeah, that’s the guy who HATES Bill Simmons.”

 

[nattysez]

You can say what you want about Simmons, but yada-yada'ing his tremendous success as Magary does in this article is fucking bullshit. Magary should really be ashamed of himself, especially since I don't think he'd have a career without Simmons having blazed the trail for people writing about sports in the style Magary does.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

You really know you’ve made it when someone’s life is dedicated to hating you.

“Do you know who Drew Magary is?”

“Oh yeah, that’s the guy who HATES Bill Simmons.”

I'm fairly sure Magary has established himself plenty in his own right.

 

[The Social Chair]

Weren't the editors and staff of Deadspin mostly white?

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

You can say what you want about Simmons, but yada-yada'ing his tremendous success as Magary does in this article is fucking bullshit. Magary should really be ashamed of himself, especially since I don't think he'd have a career without Simmons having blazed the trail for people writing about sports in the style Magary does.

He says that very thing at the end of the article.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Weren't the editors and staff of Deadspin mostly white?

IIRC they were fairly diverse. Not as diverse as they could have been but fairly so.

 

[nattysez]

He says that very thing at the end of the article.

Well, shit. I got too mad too fast. I'm glad I deleted the additional point I was going to make in my original post that it's pretty weak sauce for him to give Barstool a pass in this article, since he addressed that as well.

 

[jose melendez]

That piece is full of sour grapes, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Two people I don't know taking potshots is usually fun.

 

[thebtskink]

Pettiness is Gawker's journalistic legacy.

I love both Drew and Bill, and wouldn't keep reading Drew's stuff like this it wasnt written so well. He can get away with it, where the other Deadspin writers really come off worse when they write on the same subject.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Simmons' deep misogyny in his articles has been on Twitter a lot over the last few days, and re-reading some of it now, it's pretty gross. Magary himself has some really awful skeletons in his own writing closet, which is also something he addressed in the article.

It was definitely vicious and personal and apparently something Magary has been wanting to write for a long time.

 

[Kliq]

I mean, he has been writing like that for over a decade.

 

[The Social Chair]

Simmons' deep misogyny in his articles has been on Twitter a lot over the last few days, and re-reading some of it now, it's pretty gross.

Simmons would be smart to echo the words of Adam Yauch, "I'd rather be a hypocrite than the same person forever."

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

"I mean, he has been writing like that for over a decade. "

It got more attention in the wake of his "It's not Open mic night" comments.

 

[ifmanis5]

Thanks for posting that article. Two lines hit me:

At both his sites, he has collected writers like they’re trophies he can display in his mancave. He hasn’t learned a thing from any of them.

He just wanted to be a super rich guy who gets to hang out with other super rich guys and talk about how right they are about everything.

Didn't know HBO offered Katie Nolan as a co-host. If he had admitted that was a good idea and was willing to share the mic he'd likely still have that show. Not sure how Bill responds but showing a humble side willing to change would be a good start. He has the money to take a lot of chances, but will he?

 

[Marciano490]

There are at least 3 disses in this masterpiece of a sentence:

Simmons, who plays defense about as well as he does when he plays point guard at the Hancock Park Equinox, countered Collins thusly:

 

[dirtynine]

Magary linked to Simmons' Augusta National column defending their right to exclude women. It begins with this (emphasis mine):

For everyone's sake, I tried to stay away from this whole "Females joining Augusta National Golf Club" controversy. It's like the old saying goes: "If you don't agree with something, but it isn't bothering anybody too much, then just shut up, look the other way and concentrate on the important things in life -- like playing 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' so much that you actually lose feeling in some of your extremities." OK, I made that up.

If that isn't the perfect encapsulation for what we've all learned/are learning is the definition of white male privilege, I haven't seen its equal. And of course he goes on to argue in that piece for preserving inequities, arguing that the fact women are treated differently is something they like sometimes, so that make it ok in other contexts - even literally using lines like "Again, I'm just pointing this stuff out" and "You're right, it is time for a change. But you [women] need to change, too."

Like everybody else I have acted in ways that were in hindsight, pretty oafish and potentially hurtful to people. Just words and jokes, but still. Being a white dude helped me a) get away with it and b) conceal the problem from myself. I'm trying to be better. To y'all's credit, this very site has played a huge role in that education. I feel like these past few years especially have forced me to learn and understand and reframe things. Maybe if I was rich, I wouldn't have been compelled to.

Simmons was born rich. He surfed two gigantic '00s waves - the success of Boston sports, and the internet as a distribution platform - into even more wealth. Kelly Slater is an incredible surfer, but he's lucky somebody else makes the waves. If Simmons went to Michigan St., left his gopher job at the Free Press and then blogged passionately about the late 90s Detroit sports scene, I don't think we're reading him on Page 2 in 2002. Sometimes it takes a pre-existing platform (or a huge wave or two) to allow natural talent to express itself. The same waves he surfed so well weren't available to black and female writers. I don't think he'll ever acknowledge that, especially with respect to the experiences of those from other realities (like women and people of color).

Magary is right - he's rich and he can insulate himself with tales of his own hard work and professional success - he may not agree with what's going on with people of color or females in our society, but it's not bothering him too much, so he can just shut up, look the other way and concentrate on the important things in his life. He may not be a bad guy. But we all have the opportunity to improve and disavow the younger, lesser versions of ourselves. If he's trying to, it's not showing.

 

[ManicCompression]

It feels weird to defend Simmons since I like the Ringer overall and don't particularly care for him, but the hypocrisy of Magary's article is pretty stunning. And I usually really enjoy Magary.

- Russillo and Simmons are two "white bros" while Magary hosted a podcast with famous diverse writer David Roth - oh wait, he's a white guy, too. Did the Deadcast have a single African American guest in its entire run? I scrolled through a year's worth of episodes and there were very few diverse guests. It feels tacky to look at the logs, but that's exactly what Magary is doing.

- He points out that Simmons gave jobs to Wesley Morris and Colson Whitehead at Grantland and then says, with absolutely no evidence, that he doesn't care about them or their work. So why is Wesley Morris on the Rewatchables pretty consistently? Like, how the fuck can he say that with certitude?

- Magary points out his own skeletons in his closet, but I've heard Simmons on multiple podcasts point out how much he regrets his tone and attitude toward women now, not only because of where society is now but because he has a family. Just because he didn't write a missive, that's ignored? Also, how many women worked at Deadspin at one time? I count Laura Wagner, Megan Greenwell, Lauren Theisen, Diana Moskovitz, and Kelsey McKinney (please correct me if there's more). The Ringer has Katie Baker (former Deadspin/Grantland), Haley O'Shaughnessy, Katie Halliwell, Alison Herman, Nora Princiotti, Alyssa Bereznak, Amanda Dobbins, Mallory Rubin (correct me if there's more). Sure, Simmons could do better here, but in comparison to Deadspin, it seems like he's ahead of the curve.

- Also, Drew Magary is a white guy who attended private schools in New England and then went to Colby. Who is he to call out someone who had the pretty much the exact same upbringing as him? Is he walking away from paid gigs so that diverse writers can take his slot? Is he doing anything other than pointing out how Simmons isn't doing more?

The funny thing is, I bet a lot of the talented writers who worked at Deadspin, including Drew or Lauren Theisen or Giri Nathan, could get jobs at The Ringer if they didn't spend so many paragraphs slamming Bill Simmons. None of this is to say he can't be criticized - Simmons says really airheaded pretty often - but it feels dirty to make assumptions about his intentions, his feelings toward other people, believing his attitudes haven't changed over 15-20 years, and choosing the easy route of just lobbing ad hominem attacks at the guy.

 

[luckiestman]

If Simmons went to Michigan St., left his gopher job at the Free Press and then blogged passionately about the late 90s Detroit sports scene, I don't think we're reading him on Page 2 in 2002.

What if he grew up poor on a farm and his dad had a stroke when he was 10 and he ended up at the University of North Dakota and wrote about the Fargo hair metal scene? Do you think he or anyone could be a successful writer under those circumstances?

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

A bunch of mostly middle aged white guys commenting on a one-sided slap fight between two middle aged, affluent white guys over who has abused their privilege more is so on brand for this site.