Richard Deitsch

Richard Deitsch is an American sportswriter. He wrote for Sports Illustrated from 1997 until 2018.^[1] Currently, he writes for the online publication The Athletic and is a radio host in Toronto.^[2]

Deitsch graduated with a B.A. in communications and political science from the University at Buffalo. While studying there, he worked on the school's student newspaper, The Spectrum, which fostered in him a love of journalism.^[3] This led him to obtain an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.,^[1] where he would later become an adjunct professor.

He began his career in 1997 at Sports Illustrated, fulfilling a childhood aspiration sparked by his mother giving him a subscription to the magazine as a 7-year-old growing up in Wantagh, New York. Beginning as an intern at Sports Illustrated Kids, Deitsch went on to cover nearly every division at Sports Illustrated.^[3]

During the 2008-09 academic year, he was at the University of Michigan, studying as a Knight-Wallace Fellow. While there, he examined the intersection of 20-somethings and the sports blogosphere.^[1]

On February 22, 2018, it was announced that Deitsch would join CJCL, Sportsnet 590 The Fan, as a regular co-host for its drive-time show Prime Time Sports, beginning the week of March 5.^[4] He remained in that role until Prime Time Sports ended in October 2019, before moving on to the newly created afternoon show Writers Bloc.

Deitsch has a particular interest in sports media, a beat that he launched at Sports Illustrated^[3] and continues to cover at The Athletic.^[5] It is also the subject of his weekly podcast, Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, launched March 30, 2018.^[6]