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WNBA fandom is shifting to a more tribal, toxic atmosphere

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Aug 7

“A growing number of men have directed their attention to women’s basketball, contributing to a popularity boom that has driven up WNBA revenue, television ratings and cultural relevance. Some have brought old traditions with them.” www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

An explosion in popularity has meant more divisive voices crashing into a community that long-time fans have centered on inclusion.

60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names.

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jul 30

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed 18,500 children. These are their names:

www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

New York gunman appeared to target NFL, had mental health history

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jul 29

“Tamura was issued an older model of helmet, which the players jokingly called ‘concussion buckets’ because they didn’t absorb contact as well.”

Our @postsports.bsky.social story on the NYC shooter, a former HS football player who said he believed he had CTE: wapo.st/40FdWVt

The suspected Manhattan high-rise shooter, a former high school football player, left a note referencing the brain disease CTE and appeared to have targeted the NFL’s offices, authorities said.

WNBA fandom is shifting to a more tribal, toxic atmosphere

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jul 7

Men newly tuning into the WNBA have brought a toxic, tribal vibe. And longtime fans who built a culture of inclusion are getting priced out. Our story on the cost of progress in the W: wapo.st/4nzxYub

An explosion in popularity has meant more divisive voices crashing into a community that long-time fans have centered on inclusion.

A firm targeted MLB stars’ pay. Next up: College athletes.

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jun 24

Fernando Tatis Jr. was the poster boy client for Big League Advantage, a firm that offers cash advances to athletes in exchange for a % of salary. Now, he’s suing them for allegedly “locking him into an unlawful and exploitative arrangement.”

Here’s our story on BLA from last year: wapo.st/4niJn1o

Big League Advantage made waves paying baseball prospects for a cut of their future pay. Now it’s stirring controversy in the murky NIL market.

Two nights in Vegas with the fan-bros of UFC

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jun 20

I spoke with them. They said they’re not here for deportation operations but for counterterrorism and “radiation screening” that they say is standard to major sporting events.

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jun 19

DHS agents at the Rose Bowl shuttle bus stop before the PSG-Botafogo Club World Cup game

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · May 12

“They had spent their money for an immersive experience with close friends, camaraderie forged through nerve-racking stakes in a space where men feel comfortable expressing their feelings.”

Two nights in Vegas with the fan-bros of UFC: wapo.st/3EYn1B5

In Las Vegas for UFC 313, a weekend of violence and ‘escape.’

Two nights in Vegas with the fan-bros of UFC

Reposted by Albert Samaha

Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · May 10

Two nights in Vegas with the fan-bros of UFC, via @samaha.bsky.social:

In Las Vegas for UFC 313, a weekend of violence and ‘escape.’

‘VIP’ bettors say sportsbooks keep them playing, no matter the cost

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Apr 4

Sports betting companies reward their highest spending customers with lavish perks and a personal host. A growing number of those customers say those “VIP” hosts helped enable their gambling addiction. Our latest @postsports.bsky.social investigation: wapo.st/42q01Tk

With online betting booming, some U.S. gamblers and lawmakers are pushing back against sportsbooks’ aggressive ‘loyalty’ programs.

Trump administration says it mistakenly deported Salvadoran migrant

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Apr 1

“The government blamed ‘an administrative error’ for the accidental deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. Officials claim they’re unable to return him to his family in Maryland.” www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

The government blamed “an administrative error” for the accidental deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. Officials claim they’re unable to return him t...

How an NBA fairy tale became sport betting’s cautionary tale

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Mar 15

Jontay Porter’s basketball journey, through injuries and doubts, had been an NBA fairy tale — before it became a cautionary tale. A @postsports.bsky.social deep dive into the inaugural corruption scandal of the online sports betting boom: wapo.st/41ST7W3

Jontay Porter went from obscure to infamous in the inaugural corruption scandal of the online sports betting boom.

Last Summer In Lebanon — Switchboard Magazine

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Reposted by Albert Samaha

Switchboard Magazine @switchboardmag.bsky.social · Feb 17

At 25, @samaha.bsky.social found out about 4 half-sisters living in Lebanon. He writes about his experience in LAST SUMMER IN LEBANON, a road-trip of reconnection - unearthing family secrets and shared histories of their beautiful homeland.

Read now! www.switchboardmagazine.com/january-issu...

A deeply personal journey of a secret son who spends the summer crisscrossing Lebanon in a van with sisters who never knew he existed in a country he had never before visited. It's a story of about fa...

www.switchboardmagazine.com

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Feb 3

“As the world requires more of the people in it, it also offers more opportunities to turn away.” www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...

Lessons for the End of the World

On Octavia Butler, the L.A. fires, and the uses and misuses of the things that cannot be recovered.

www.newyorker.com

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Jan 28

For the inaugural issue of @switchboardmag.bsky.social I wrote about a road trip across Lebanon to excavate family secrets: www.switchboardmagazine.com/january-issu...

Last Summer In Lebanon — Switchboard Magazine

A deeply personal journey of a secret son who spends the summer crisscrossing Lebanon in a van with sisters who never knew he existed in a country he had never before visited. It's a story of about fa...

www.switchboardmagazine.com

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Dec 17

Nima Momeni was found guilty of second-degree murder today for fatally stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee in SF. Here’s my deep dive into the case from the lead up to the trial: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Bob Lee's Murder Shook San Francisco. What Really Happened?

Bob Lee and Nima Momeni came together in the new startup scene. Then Lee’s tragic killing slid both of their lives under a public microscope

www.rollingstone.com

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Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

As court rulings, law changes, & policy proposals continue to shape how college athletes get paid, our project aims to shed some light on the burgeoning economy at stake, which operates mostly out of sight even as these debates play out in public view.

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

While the biggest NIL deals make headlines, the vast majority of college athletes string together small-money deals – all the more so in women’s sports

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

A talent management agency that represents Sanders produces a docuseries about his team & pays his players to appear on & promote the show – a total of around $600,000 during Sanders’s first season in Boulder. Top stars have gotten as much as $120k from SMAC Productions.

At Colorado, getting NIL money means keeping close to Coach Prime

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

Another finding opens a window to Deion Sanders’s effort to boost funding for Colorado football. One of his team’s biggest benefactors is his longtime business partner: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/...

SMAC Entertainment represents Deion Sanders, produces his show and has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to his players. It’s all helping Colorado — for now.

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

A reason for this disparity is that booster collectives, run mostly by men, channel money mostly to men’s sports. While men’s basketball & football players get paid for athletic talent, women earn NIL money by building social media followings to tap into the influencer economy

As women’s hoops booms, NIL boosters favor men, records show

Albert Samaha @samaha.bsky.social · Oct 23

One finding that stood out was the vast gender pay gap, including in basketball, where men make far more than women even as the women’s game soars in popularity: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/...

Records obtained by The Post show that even as their sport explodes, women in college basketball put in more work for less money.