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Candace Buckner

@candacedbuckner.bsky.social
4.8K followers 30 following 173 posts

Sports columnist at The Athletic.

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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 18h
The Washington Mystics take the court tonight in Game 2 vs the Dream. As good as this year as been for the team & their individual up-and-coming stars, I hope they’ll be viewed for those accomplishments. And not their nickname. I hate that name, here’s why: www.nytimes.com/athletic/763...
nytimes.com
‘Young Hos’ nickname choice by Washington Mystics undercuts the fun, unafraid women behind it (Gift Article)
Reappropriating the term "hos" celebrates a culture that’s rooted in abuse and dehumanization, in which many girls and women are trapped.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
From being a zero-star recruit & undrafted practice-squad player to marrying the GOAT, Jonathan Owens is on 1 of the wildest journeys you’ll see in the NFL Tho curiosity n2 his marriage w/ Simone Biles will always be there I find Owen’s career fascinating. Free read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/761...
nytimes.com
Colts safety Jonathan Owens is on a wild ride — plus he’s married to Simone Biles (Gift Article)
The nine-year pro is one of the Colts' top special-teamers and leads them in TMZ appearances. "At the end of the day, I'm living my dream."
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Loved this quote from Calais Campbell on his QB Lamar Jackson: "It was just like, ‘What just happened? How did he get it in there and get the first down?’ It is like, ‘How many people can actually do that?’ Not many — not many. He might be one of the only ones.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/759...
nytimes.com
Lamar Jackson, illusionist in pads, is healthy again. Prepare to be amazed (Gift Article)
Jackson might say his standard is just “playing football,” but he's a marvel for the rest of us. His sleight of hand will confuse defenses.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Not a leap to believe that the next WNBA commissioner will be a woman with a strong business background. And I say, good luck to that brave soul. For she’ll have perform a delicate dance to be all things to all people. www.nytimes.com/athletic/756...
nytimes.com
Wanted: A new WNBA commissioner. She must be everything to everyone (Gift Article)
She must be approachable, charismatic and respected in the boardroom. The standard for female CEOs will always be higher and more personal.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Basically, Steph White had time today.
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Jesse Dougherty @jessedougherty.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Alternate headline: Sports are never just about sports.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Let’s go to a #Fever game & talk basketball… just as Sophie Cunningham wants. But please avert your eyes from the protestor yelling about trans kids, the fans being escorted out and the fact that the #Fever waited two weeks to deny allegations abt sexual harassment www.nytimes.com/athletic/749...
nytimes.com
The WNBA conversation is no longer about basketball, and Sophie Cunningham doesn’t get why (Gift Article)
The Fever and Aces played a highly entertaining basketball game Thursday night. Though other things happened around the basketball part.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Yes, I believe a pro sports commissioner needs to be good at messaging. And WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert gets harshly judged bc she doesn’t talk enough w/ players. But the role of a commish is not just abt relationships. Ultimately it’s abt business: www.nytimes.com/athletic/747...
nytimes.com
Cathy Engelbert may be unpopular with WNBA players, but she’s not paid to be their bestie (Gift Article)
Engelbert's failure to protect players might be her downfall, but she seems to be doing the one thing that she’s paid to do well.
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Eric Koreen @ekoreen.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
From @candacedbuckner.bsky.social, Monday night was a giant F--- you to Knicks fans, free to read.
nytimes.com
Donald Trump, James Dolan tried to ruin NBA Finals vibe. The Knicks’ loss killed it (Gift Article)
Dolan should've known Trump's presence would hijack attention from the night and complicate logistics for the NBA and deeply invested fans.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
ST. LOUIS — The place that calls itself “Baseball Heaven” is now filled with a bunch of shirtless dudes. Visited my hometown recently to cover the Tarps Off craze, and sneak in a gooey butters reference, and a Nelly lyric. Free access to my column here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/732...
nytimes.com
MLB Tarps Off craze has awakened 'Baseball Heaven' with the bare truth
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Jaxson Dart was “pleasured” to introduce Trump at a political rally, Abdul Carter had different words to describe that scene. A very public rebuke from one NFL teammate to another shed slight on how even unified locker rooms might be functioning in the Trump era. www.nytimes.com/athletic/730...
nytimes.com
Political dissension in the workplace? NFL stars are just like the rest of us (Gift Article)
Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart offered a peek behind the curtain of how locker rooms are functioning in the Trump era.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
In what feels like a state of emergency for the Black vote, the NAACP is trying to recruit junior foot soldiers to make a vow and save the day. They’re asking Black athletes to not play at certain Southern schools. It’s a big ask. And it’s unfair. www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...
nytimes.com
NAACP’s big ask is admirable, impossible and mostly unfair (Gift Article)
The oldest civil rights organization in America wants athletes in their teens and 20s to send a message to Southern lawmakers. Good luck.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
“If u expose yourself to something that feels so scary, it just has an effect on u. It just reminds u that nothing really matters that much. Nobody’s thinking about u that much. No one cares about u that much. So don’t take urself too seriously.” Gosh this is good: www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...
nytimes.com
A former NFL player did a disastrous open mic. He thinks everyone should try it (Gift Article)
“If you expose yourself to something that feels so scary,” former NFL player Jack Crawford said, “it just has an effect on you."
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Statistical records falling almost every game… Efficient shooting from deep… Caitlin Clark is saying hello once again to the game she’s ready to dominate This one’s open and free for all, take a look 👀 www.nytimes.com/athletic/728...
nytimes.com
New-and-improved Caitlin Clark reintroducing herself to the game she’s ready to dominate (Gift Article)
Clark is politely saying hello again to the league and reestablishing her star trajectory that temporarily stalled a year ago.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
It’s up to WNBA fans to raise the roof (and the floor) of the conversation Open for all, so click and read. Interested in your thoughts: www.nytimes.com/athletic/724...
nytimes.com
It’s up to WNBA fans to raise the roof (and the floor) of the conversation (Gift Article)
As WNBA fans on social media share their fervor, opinions and drivel, the discourse needs help. Right now, it sounds like NBA lite.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Sprinter Allyson Felix and NFL player Drew Dalman. One athlete in her autumn, and another in his prime. Both have rejected the conventional wisdom of what is expected of their bodies. And I can’t decide who’s more impressive. www.nytimes.com/athletic/723...
nytimes.com
For sprinter Allyson Felix and NFL player Drew Dalman, two equally courageous decisions
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Hey y’all! I’ve been at @theathletic.com for a little over a week now. New digs but same ol’ me :) Couldn’t shake thoughts about this random Pacers couple going viral and the reactions to them, so I wrote this. Hope you enjoy: www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...
nytimes.com
What’s an Indiana Pacers couple to do when viral moment goes off the rails?
Social media found its fix. The "Inside" crew had its fun. Now, we can all move on, until the next moment breaks through our boredom.
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Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Just wanted to take a minute, for no particular reason whatsoever, and celebrate some of the brilliant work that my @postsports.bsky.social colleagues have done in recent weeks. These stories take time and resources. They're also what make The Post so great. All gift links/free to read...
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I wrote about Audi Crooks bc she is special in her craft, & unlike any other star player. What makes her great at hoops & unique among her peers comes from her body. But in a world still too obsessed w/ judging the shape of a woman’s body, how should fans talk about female athletes & their size?
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
The conversation and backlash to the conversation re: the Jacksonville Jaguars news conference revealed one thing: Sports journalists have a problem. Free & open link for all: wapo.st/4sGqfgt
wapo.st
Column | News conferences exist to inform fans. It’s too bad so many don’t get that.
The debate over a reporter’s actions after a Jacksonville Jaguars game reveals a troubling misunderstanding.
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Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
With no one running the asylum, college basketball has gone full crazy. Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com
Column | With no one running the asylum, college hoops has gone full crazy
In the latest evidence that no one is in charge, James Nnaji, who was drafted by an NBA team two years ago, is somehow eligible to play at Baylor.
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Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Tackling is one of football's basic crafts. Few players in NFL history have mastered it like Bobby Wagner. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
This week Puka Nacua appeared on a live stream — and we could stop right there to break down all the reasons this ranked as an epically dumb decision. Nothing quite makes a crisis manager groan when reading a headline that features the words “pro athletes” & “live streams.” wapo.st/4q5pbBj
wapo.st
Column | Advice to Puka Nacua: Hang out with people who have as much to lose as you
Evidently wanting more attention than one NFL game per week provides, the Rams’ star receiver appeared on a live stream that got him the wrong kind.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Stripped of his armor of maize and blue, Sherrone Moore looked small. At his arraignment Friday, Moore looked afraid, or maybe he was worried. Without the brim of his block “M” hat framing his face, Moore was exposed yet remained hard to read. He looked only like a criminal defendant.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Like a lot of us last Sunday, Philip Rivers was watching NFL football on his couch. But unlike the rest of us coach potatoes, Rivers got a surprise call to join the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. And nearly five years after his last NFL game, Rivers might start Sunday 🤯 wapo.st/4pBiuqj
wapo.st
Column | Could a 44-year-old grandpa start an NFL game Sunday? ‘Heck yeah.’
Philip Rivers, 44, hasn’t played in five years and watched this past Sunday’s games from his couch. That might not stop him from being in the Colts’ huddle.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Christmas in Cleveland just got more merrier because the quarterback who evokes so much emotion, such weirdness from people, will be the starter for the final four games of the season. It’s Shedeur SZN! www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Hot takes by the lake: The Shedeur Sanders story
Don’t have an opinion on this fifth-round pick of a last-place NFL team? Then you’re seemingly the only one.
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Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza can present himself as Mr. Nice Guy, he is a bad, bad man. On the Hoosiers and their standout quarterback from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:
washingtonpost.com
Column | Indiana swears by Fernando Mendoza, college football’s purest interview
The quarterback led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title since 1967, probably clinched the Heisman Trophy — and kept it clean afterward.
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Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
All eyes on 5 today. Expecting word on his game availability from Dan Quinn in a few hours.
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Rachel Bachman, WSJ sports reporter @realbachscore.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Happy college football signing day. Remembering the days when coaches huddled around fax machines to confirm players' commitments: www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...
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Varun Shankar @byvarunshankar.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Talked to Ryan Rollins on Monday and tried to sort through his departure from the Wizards. Why Washington cut him, how he feels about the team and what's propelled him to make a leap this season in my latest for @postsports.bsky.social 👇🏾. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
The Wizards waived him after he shoplifted, and now he’s an emerging talent
Washington could use players like Ryan Rollins, who is enjoying a breakout season with the Bucks two years after his time in D.C. ended ignominiously.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
This is Lane Kiffin here: the legacy hire born in the red zone, the narcissist who quite skillfully can find the “I” in “Team.” More than anything else, he’s Football Coach, unbothered by the body count of jobs on his résumé, and the amount of bridges he’s incinerated along the way. wapo.st/44JGAXf
wapo.st
Column | This wasn’t a college football problem. This was a Lane Kiffin problem.
The messiness around the coach’s exit from Ole Miss to LSU was entirely of his own making.
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Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
From his small Indiana town, Myles McLaughlin made a memorable run at Derrick Henry’s national high school rushing record. Read @candacedbuckner.bsky.social’s full column:
washingtonpost.com
Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record
Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
The autumn when Knox, Indiana became one of football’s biggest stories. Thanks to Myles McLaughlin, a former no-star recruit who chased after history. wapo.st/48cQz8B
wapo.st
Column | The small-town football player who took a run at an NFL star’s record
Myles McLaughlin brought the national spotlight to Knox, Indiana, as he approached Derrick Henry’s career rushing mark.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
After another weekend when the civilians of the SEC took this brand slogan (“It Just Means More”) cooked up by an advertising firm way too personally, however, football could stand to mean a wee bit less. Latest column & 🎁 link for y’all: wapo.st/4r9pR9A
wapo.st
Column | Hey, SEC, maybe it should mean just a bit less
Having a passion for football is cool, but it’s probably better to keep it away from your day job.
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Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
If it’s true that Trump really wants the new Commanders stadium named after him, then owner Josh Harris will have a problem with many, if not most, of his own constituents. Column from @candacedbuckner.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com
Column | Josh Harris might have to choose between Trump and an angry fan base
The Washington Commanders might now have the toughest assignment in football.
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Andrew Golden @andrewgolden.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
We just finished this up, feel free to read through the answers from @spencernusbaum.bsky.social and me:
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Is it too corny to care about sports? To still feel seduced by sentimentality even as many of today’s fans define joy simply as the moment a parlay pays out? The NBA’s latest gambling scandal would indicate so. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Column | If you were ready to fall in love with the NBA again, you lost that bet
What felt like a dream opening week to the season got a rude awakening with Thursday’s news of a gambling scandal.
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Varun Shankar @byvarunshankar.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
The biggest question for the Wizards this season is whether the team will keep its 2026 draft pick, which is top-eight-protected. Washington is racing to the bottom. Who could beat it there? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
At Indiana, fans are enjoying their Cig, and staying past halftime. A Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., where football is, like, a thing now. wapo.st/3JjNTNY
wapo.st
Column | Indiana football: A success story even Hoosiers fans are trying to grasp
In Bloomington, fans are learning what it means to be a football school, which means paying their coach and staying for the second half.
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Tashan Reed @tashanreed.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
#Commanders WR Deebo Samuel (heel) has been downgraded to out against the Cowboys tomorrow. Washington will also be without WR Terry McLaurin (quad).
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Tashan Reed @tashanreed.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Quinn said McLaurin is "frustrated," but his body just isn't ready.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
🤷🏽‍♀️
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Complete trust is great when you have blinders on. Just don’t look around and start noticing how long other franchises have needed to rebuild.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
On Tuesday, the King must have been bored. So he decided to see how much attention he could get by teasing about his future. Then once the crowds had gathered, do what he’s been most eager to do with his platform lately: sell a product. Some words: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Column | LeBron James is selling his credibility, one Decision at a time
With an insatiable thirst for attention, the King is devaluing his legacy with every silly social media post and thoughtless advertising campaign.
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Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Momentum is real. Today, it came on Quan Martin's hit in the 2nd quarter, and felt to the #Commanders defense like "a gasp of air." www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
An L.A. story: Commanders force fumble, and Chargers crumble
With Jayden Daniels back under center, Washington takes charge after a second-quarter turnover and rolls past Los Angeles.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Hate is a strong word. And yet it’s not strong enough to fully capture the feelings around the 2025-26 Los Angeles Clippers.
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Tom Schad @tomschad.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
A few #Commanders roster moves today: -- Opened the 21-day practice window for OL Sam Cosmi -- Placed DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (torn pec) on IR -- Elevated CB Antonio Hamilton Sr. to active roster -- Signed veteran WR Robbie Chosen to practice squad
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Tashan Reed @tashanreed.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Daniels hasn't been a full practice participant since he suffered a knee sprain in the Sept. 11 loss to the Packers. Barring a setback, he'll play against the Chargers this week.
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Candace Buckner @candacedbuckner.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
The WNBA coaches are raging, the players are revolting and the loyal fan base along with those who are just learning your name are ridiculing the entire operation. So what are you going to do, Commissioner? www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Column | Listen up, Cathy Engelbert: The WNBA has a big problem.
Napheesa Collier said the quiet part out loud in a league where players pride themselves on action, not gratitude.
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Post Sports @postsports.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Experience can be an asset, but on Sunday in Atlanta, the oldest roster in the league couldn’t keep up. Column by @candacedbuckner.bsky.social:
washingtonpost.com
Column | The Commanders are starting to look old and slow
Experience can be an asset, but on Sunday in Atlanta, the oldest roster in the league couldn’t keep up.
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