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Back in May, I wrote about Savannah James’ high-end skincare line, Reframe Beauty.

The creative direction and digital design were done by a company that has worked with brands like Literary Sport and Thom Browne and James partnered with Nick Axelrod-Welk and Alexis Page (both beauty industry iykyk names) on the line.

The brand launched with three products in May of 2025 and there hasn’t been much press coverage since, posts on the company’s Instagram (or James’), or any new product launches…until about ten seconds ago.

I suspected Reframe may be launching another product when I noticed that James’ husband, LeBron James, began sharing more Reframe Beauty posts to his Instagram Story.

Of course, I had to dig further and noticed that just four days ago, VIOLET GREY announced they would be exclusively carrying the skincare line.

What’s piqued my interest further was the fact that VIOLET GREY used the phrasing, “…on the eve of launching Reframe an edited line of skin care essentials—exclusively at VIOLET GREY” in an Instagram post.

Not only that, but they say that James “…just added” skincare brand founder to her resume, despite the fact that the brand launched over a year ago.

And, yes, a skincare brand partnering with a major beauty retailer like VIOLET GREY isn’t out of the ordinary. However, I do find it odd that it’s happening now when they haven’t released any new products, have barely done any marketing, and rarely post about it on their own social channels.

Since they launched, they’ve only released those three products and have not really done much influencer seeding or PR—until now.

To read the rest of today’s deep dive into James’ skincare line (and the unreleased product launch I may or may not have discovered) and get all of the most fascinating off-the-field stories you need to know become a paying subscriber for less than $2 a week.

Now let’s get into it.

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I’m still processing the Los Angeles Clippers news that broke yesterday. I’m so curious what everyone thinks about the punishment and whether it was harsh enough.

Please sound off in the comments with your thoughts.

You may notice I’m workshopping a new format for the free version of this newsletter. It’s a work in progress and more changes are coming soon!

We’ve got a lot to cover today including a New York Knicks star making his acting debut, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s dog finally has a name, Karlie Kloss’ husband Joshua Kushner apparently didn’t do his homework before attempting to basically buy a piece of the World Cup, and more.

We’ll also be covering a few stories out of the U.S. Open that I’ve been tracking, including Coco Gauff’s mom doing something I have never seen before from the parent of a public figure and Naomi Osaka’s match look inspired by a famous basketball legend.

I’ll be attending the tournament today with Bogner, so I cannot wait to see what Osaka walks out in next.

Enjoy!

Off The Field (And In Your Inbox)

• I spoke with one of the 49ers scammer’s alleged victims: She’s the one who has been going viral for running an anonymous Instagram account highlighting his behavior since 2024. We discussed this story further on Tuesday’s episode of . (via YouTube)

• Uh oh: The Los Angeles Clippers are in bigggg trouble: The NBA has suspended team owner Steve Ballmer, fined the team $30 million, and forced it to forfeit five first-round draft picks after the team was found to have circumvented the salary cap with the Kawhi Leonard deal heard ‘round the (sports) world. Ballmer is not pleased. (via AP)

• Sorry, influencers can’t write off trying to catch a pass from Tom Brady: (via Sportico)

• OG Anunoby is one step closer to getting his SAG card: The Knicks starter is making his acting debut in the upcoming season of CBS’ Elsbeth. (via Deadline)

• Lionel Messi retired from international soccer: The GOAT announced that his international career is coming to an end, but you can still see him play for Inter Miami (at least for the rest of the season). I can guarantee you ticket prices are about to get even more expensive than they already are. (via The Guardian)

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s dog has a name: After the Swift and Kelce dog appeared in a Tommy Hilfiger campaign with Kelce (which I thought was very good btw), the dog’s name has been revealed…on Kelce’s podcast, of course. (via New Heights)

• Joshua Kushner apparently didn’t do his soccer research: It appears that Thrive Capital’s Joshua Kushner “…failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football” when the FIFA deal fell apart. (via Axios)

Quick U.S. Open Check-In

• Naomi Osaka is a fan of Allen Iverson: In addition to walking out in a sick Who Decides War look styled by Law Roach, the tennis player wore an outfit during her Round 1 U.S. Open match inspired by former basketball star Allen Iverson. (via X)

• Please stop asking Coco Gauff’s mom for tickets to the U.S. Open: No, really, Candi Gauff is asking you to please stop asking her for the plug. You know it’s serious when this is a main feed post to 17,000 people. (via Instagram)

• Influencers are “invading” the U.S. Open: Well, at least according to The Cut they are….I think the debate as to whether influencers are taking over the tournament is layered and complicated. I defer to and for their expert opinions on the matter. (via The Cut)

• Ben Stiller is filming again: This time at Francis Tiafoe’s match against Rei Sakamoto, which Tiafoe won. I’m curious if Stiller is directing an upcoming Lululemon commercial or maybe Tiafoe is somehow going to be a part of the upcoming New York Knicks documentary??? Only time will tell… (via X)

• Trinity Rodman ❤️’s her boyfriend: And her boyfriend happens to be Ben Shelton who won his second-round match yesterday. I feel like after the Swift/Haim Knicks t-shirt went viral, we’ll see even more statement graphic tees from the famous partners of athletes and…just famous people in general at sporting events. It is a good billboard after all. (via The New York Post)

• Thank god: A good athlete home! Madison Keys let Architectural Digest inside her Orlando home and I’m into it. I’ve talked about this before, but so many athletes have really ugly homes and this is not one of those. (via Architectural Digest)

• Did Carlos Alcaraz watch The Odyssey? It appears that way based on this… (via X)

If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. This newsletter is free, but please consider becoming a paying subscriber. Annual subscriptions are currently 20% off.

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Happy U.S. Open to all who celebrate.

If you haven’t read my interview with Hard Court’s , I recommend you do that ASAP.

Today’s newsletter isn’t dedicated to the tournament. Instead, we’re focusing on one of the craziest off-the-field stories in sports that I’ve heard in a long time.

And this is coming from someone who is a Sports Gossip Expert!

The NFL season hasn’t even started yet and we’re already getting so much mess. For some reason, a lot of this mess is coming from the San Francisco 49ers.

Their coach got in a car crash (that wasn’t disclosed for 11 days by the team) and their owner was arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution, but the biggest story from the 49ers’ organization has to do with a man named Daejon Love who claimed to be a player on the team, but was actually just scamming innocent victims out of over $1 million and was just arrested by the FBI.

I spoke with one of Love’s alleged victims who has been running an anonymous Instagram account dedicated to spreading awareness about his behavior since 2024.

Before we get to that interview, let me catch you up on what you need to know about this wildddd story that is primed for a Netflix/30 For 30/Inside Edition crossover unlike anything anyone has ever seen.

U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Oregon, Love and his co-conspirator, Taylor Chan, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud after they reportedly created fake investments to defraud dozens of women.

Chan acted as Love’s financial advisor to solicit money from women that Love met mostly online via dating apps.

Love often pretended to be an NFL player or a real estate investor, according to the FBI.

Love posted videos of him working out in full 49ers gear, despite the fact that his footwork looks like how I would warm up when I played volleyball as a teenager and not the footwork of a professional athlete.

Love would also pose with 49ers fans, pretend to sign an NFL contract, and even celebrated his birthday with a 49ers-themed cake.

I feel like I am being served a new photo, video, or voice note from this man every two seconds on my feed.

While the FBI has identified 26 victims, they believe there are many more victims.

Based on what one of the alleged victims told me, there almost certainly are.

This story has so many layers and I feel like what we know so far is just scratching the surface…

An Interview With One Of The 49ers Scammer’s Alleged Victims

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

To get a better grasp of this saga that keeps unfolding by the day, I reached out to the woman who has been running an Instagram account warning other potential victims of Love’s behavior since 2024.

She spoke with me anonymously over DMs and shared how she first met Love in 2023, how Love allegedly tried to get money from her, how she’s feeling since the arrests, and more.

What led you to start the account in the first place? I saw the first post is from August 2024. Was that when you created the account?

Yes, I created the account in August 2024, but the investigating started in 2023.

There was another account ran by another woman in 2023, she reached me and multiple other women with her account that was dedicated to exposing him.

We worked together to get more info on Daejon. Eventually, Daejon managed to get her account removed.

She didn’t want to continue after that, so I started up the page again on my own and started fresh reaching as many potential victims as possible.

Were you also a victim of Daejon's?

Yes, I am a victim myself.

Is that how you were connected to the woman who ran the other account in 2023?

We connected over the shared experience, another lady helped us, so it was us three.

We lived in the same area at the time and we managed to go to the police to see if we could report Daejon.

They couldn’t do much about it at the time. They had only given us a link to report it to the FBI, because they said his actions were being committed in other states, so it would be a bigger process (the link that’s still in my bio is what they gave us back then to share).

I continued to share it throughout the years and, eventually, many more women came forward and started submitting their reports.

I saw that many of his victims he found on dating apps. Was that also the case with you?

We didn’t meet on a dating app like a lot of the other women did.

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One of my first jobs as a teenager was working at the tennis center at my local public park. I was given way too much responsibility and was in charge of booking courts for adults and telling them when they could and couldn’t play.

It was empowering!

I really do love tennis so much. I love watching it, wearing cute outfits to play (horribly), and observing how much the tennis world has changed over the past few years.

The US Open, in particular, has felt like a completely different tournament from the one I attended as a kid. There weren’t any brand activations and grounds passes weren’t going for hundreds of dollars.

With the first round kicking off this weekend, I turned to tennis expert . She writes Hard Court, an incredible newsletter about the business, culture, and style around the sport.

Schiffer views the evolution of the US Open as “…New York Fashion Week with a scoreboard,” and I think she’s onto something here.

I’m making this newsletter free, but interviews like this are typically reserved for paying subscribers, so consider upgrading to support the work I’m doing.

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Enjoy our conversation!

An Interview With Hard Court’s Jessica Schiffer

This interview has been edited for clarity. You can subscribe to Jessica’s newsletter here and follow her on Instagram here.

What’s your favorite off the court storyline going into the tournament?

Welp, most of the off-court storylines right now are bleak, whether it’s chronic injuries rippling through the tours or Nick Kyrgios testing positive for cocaine. So I’m going to go with the continued transformation of the US Open into New York Fashion Week with a scoreboard.

The celebrity attendance, outfits and general competition to be seen at the tournament have become almost a parallel spectacle to the tennis itself.

The Open was one of the first places we got to see Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner out in the wild as a couple, and the following year Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce showed up to the men’s final at a time when we were all watching their every move.

@usopenA vibe #taylorswift #traviskelce #usopen

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I also think we’re going to see the WAGs come together much more visibly this year—sitting in packs in the stands, showing up for each other’s events and generally becoming their own little social scene around the tournament.

I’m very excited to watch this particular sideshow unfold, and I have a sneaking suspicion we may even get a few new player-partner reveals along the way.

With the rise of influencers/content creators and brands at the US Open, what is the biggest shift you’ve noticed in how the tournament runs?

The US Open kicked off its creator program last year, inviting creators both in and outside of the tennis space to attend and cover the event in the hopes of widening its audience reach.

These influencers are given all the same permissions as media, meaning they can attend press conferences and ask questions of athletes.

I think it’s generally a smart move—creators are at the forefront of new media—but I still think there should be some delineation between tennis-focused journalists and, like, a food influencer, so I’m curious to see how it unfolds.

Is there a brand partnership or activation you are most looking forward to seeing this year?

I’m not super excited about anything on the grounds, to be honest—I still think the US Open has a ways to go before it reaches Australian Open levels of interesting activations.

There’s so much attention on the tournament right now that I’d love to see brands get a little weirder and more ambitious with what they do with it (Ralph Lauren, I’m looking at you).

That said, there’s a big beauty partnership being announced for one of the top WTA players this week that I’m very keen to see come to life, because beauty has been sorely underrepresented in tennis despite the obvious overlap.

Paige Paul (nee Lorenze) is also doing a Dairy Boy pop-up during the Open, and I’m interested to see what she does with it because she’s built such a specific world around the brand—this mix of outdoorsy Americana, Martha Stewart-esque domesticity and sporty, slightly irreverent fashion. Frankly, a lot of tennis brands could learn something from how clearly defined that world is.

Speaking of worlds… World Team Tennis is also being revived and taking over Rockefeller Center on Friday to celebrate, which is a pretty major moment for the industry. For the uninitiated, WTT was the co-ed team tennis league founded in the ’70s by Billie Jean King and others that brought a much more colorful, entertainment-driven approach to a traditionally buttoned-up sport.

Its return feels particularly well-timed given the explosion of interest in tennis right now.

Have there been any significant endorsement shakeups for the major tennis stars ahead of the tournament?

We typically see the biggest endorsement shakeups after the US Open, when contracts are being renegotiated or coming to an end, but this is when a lot of the fun gossip starts.

I’m particularly focused on what Ben Shelton will do with his apparel deal, given that his contract with On is up for renewal at the end of the year.

There’s been a lot of chatter about a potential move to Nike, and word on the street is that Shelton would love to do something with Jordan Brand.

The wrinkle is that Jordan reportedly turned down a similar request from Carlos Alcaraz, so I wouldn’t bet on that one—but stranger things have happened in tennis sponsorships.

I feel like I still see so many commercials/endorsements from former stars during the tournament (ex. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, etc.). Maybe it’s just what I’ve been served (pun intended), but do you feel like brands are collaborating more with legacy stars than with active players or is it about the same as it has always been?

I think tennis as a whole is having a little trouble emotionally moving on from the Big Three era.

Federer and Nadal obviously have enormous cultural value and absolutely deserve to remain part of the sport’s commercial world, but at some point we do have to accept that there are other tennis players now.

What’s frustrating is that we have a new generation of genuine superstars who should be incredibly easy to market, and I don’t think brands have fully risen to the occasion.

Carlos Alcaraz is probably the most glaring example. He’s one of the best players in the world, wildly charismatic, incredibly fun to watch and already has enormous global recognition, and yet I think Nike in particular has done him pretty dirty from a marketing and creative standpoint.

We can love the legends and still acknowledge that tennis has produced some new people since 2005.

Are there any new tennis brands or collaborations in the sport that you are excited about?

My friend Bryson Malone just opened this amazing vintage tennis archive and creative studio called Graphite, and I’m really hoping tennis brands take advantage of both his collection and his talents because they’re in desperate need of a fresh POV.

His archive is also a great reminder that tennis history isn’t all Wimbledon whites and varsity sweaters—there’s so much weird, colorful, genuinely cool stuff to pull from. We are truly overindexed on country club cosplay, and I would love to see brands designing clothes that reflect a different side of the sport or, at the very least, are actually in line with what REAL PEOPLE play in.

With the US Open being the last major of the season, what’s been your biggest takeaway or observation this year in the sport?

Unfortunately, my biggest takeaway is that tennis’s punishing schedule is in dire need of changing, given how many players we’ve seen dealing with chronic injuries this season and last.

There are obviously multiple factors at play, including today’s increasingly physical style of play, but one thing we do have some control over is how long the show goes on. Tennis is essentially nonstop at the moment, and I think it’s worth the headache of figuring out how to lessen player obligations without hurting the sport. It’s not a miracle cure, but it feels like an obvious place to start.

Do you have any predictions about what we will see more or less of in the culture around tennis next year?

I think fancy walk-on outfits are going to move from being the exception to the rule for top players next year, especially after we saw so many players follow in Naomi Osaka’s footsteps at Wimbledon this year.

Brands are realizing there’s a whole additional fashion moment before a player even hits a ball, and one that’s arguably more useful from a marketing perspective because it doesn’t have to comply with the same performance or tournament restrictions as matchwear.

I expect we’ll see a lot more custom jackets, suits and other pieces designed purely for the entrance.

More broadly, I think we’re going to see brands giving players a lot more creative input.

Tennis has become so intertwined with fashion and culture that simply putting a logo on someone isn’t particularly interesting anymore. The players with a distinct point of view (and the brands smart enough to let them run with it) are going to get a lot more attention.

Just Something I’m Into

Not sponsored, just something I’m really into!

I’m not opposed to a long road trip, but I do think you need to break up the drive sometimes. On our way up to Maine this week (more on that later), I was gifted a night at The Beatrice in Providence, Rhode Island.

Not only was stopping in Providence a good halfway point, but I loved everything about this hotel. The service was incredible, beds were a 10/10 imo, the water pressure in the shower was actually strong, and it was dog-friendly.

They also had an amazing sauna, which is always a good idea after a long travel day.

We also had dinner in their restaurant, The Bellini. It’s a Cipriani restaurant and, once again, the service was outstanding and the food was delicious.

Get the burrata and cacio e pepe trust me.

Thank you again to the wonderful team at The Beatrice for having me. I will be back!

If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. This newsletter is free, but please consider becoming a paying subscriber. Annual subscriptions are currently 20% off.

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For partnership inquiries or to just say hello, email madeline@impersonalfoul.com.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about rituals and routines lately. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a long time perfecting my skincare routine to deal with my acne-prone skin or because I’m always trying to decide whether I like writing down my schedule in a journal I bought in Paris two summers ago or if I should just stick to my digital calendar.

I almost always go with the digital version. Sorry to my journal sitting in my desk drawer!

With the US Open just around the corner, I was served (pun intended) another routine from former tennis star Rafael Nadal on social media of him warming up for a match against Casper Ruud at Roland Garros in 2024.

@rolandgarrosWinning Mentality 🎾 #RolandGarros #SportsTikTok #RafaelNadal #Nadal #CasperRuud #winning

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In the clip, Nadal is practicing swings and running mini sprints while Ruud just…stands there. Nadal is out there doing a performance while Ruud has no idea what to do with his hands.

That clip got me thinking about all of the different types of pre-game rituals athletes have. Some are more in your face, like Nadal’s, while others are more subtle. In some ways, that can even be more lethal for breaking your opponent imo.

I’m very excited to be partnering with the incredible team at Nike on this newsletter, who have just recently refreshed their pre-game collection, including 24.7 apparel and Nike Mind, which is geared around helping to improve your pre-game focus and mindset.

If you’ve been a loyal Impersonal Foul reader for a long time, you probably know how much I love the brand (especially their Tempo shorts IYKYK), so I was honored that they wanted to work together on this.

Anyways!

I used my research background to dig into a wide range of athlete pre-game rituals and have grouped them into four categories: The GOAT, The Monk, The Chessmaster, and The Jokester.

Each one of these categories of rituals approaches the pre-game mindset from a different angle, but they all impact the performance on the field. No matter the ritual, these elite athletes use their pre-game routines to play mind games with their opponents.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on whether you think these are enough categories of ritual types. Instinctually, they feel right to me, but please sound off in the comments.

Enjoy!

The 4 Pre-Game Ritual Personalities

The GOAT

The theatrics! The drama! The star power!

This routine is not subtle in any way, shape, or form. In fact, most of the time, these pre-game rituals happen when the cameras are very much rolling.

The GOAT routine works only for athletes whose legacies are on the line and who know that people are watching their every move.

I’m thinking of Philadelphia 76ers star (I still can’t believe I am saying that) LeBron James tossing chalk in the air while the crowd in the arena cheers him on. He started doing that back in 2003 during his rookie season. A rookie!

James really knew he was destined for greatness and had a routine fit for a king.

It also made me think about Paige Bueckers getting her handshakes in with Dallas Wings teammates while warming up.

Bueckers is newish to the WNBA, but knows how much her presence can influence her opponents.

By doing the handshakes On! The! Court! she knows that her relaxed demeanor could freak out whoever she is playing against.

Regardless of the player, athletes who participate in public displays of confidence tend to win more than they lose.

The Monk

Breathe in, breathe out. The Monk is silent, but can be very, very deadly.

They meditate, probably read The Body Keeps The Score, and know which sound frequency will put them in the right headspace to win.

There’s San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama literally training with monks and meditating in the locker room before games. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland also meditates and has a clean diet I aspire to have. Former soccer great Alex Morgan has also discussed the importance of meditation in her routine.

You could also put tennis legend Serena Williams in this category. Oftentimes, she stands there silently as she waits to walk out onto the court next to her opponent and listens to the same music.

I do think my favorite Monk ritual is the fact that tennis star Jannik Sinner takes a literal nap before a match.

@nikeBefore his next match, you'll catch @Jannik Sinner prepping with a power nap

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However “woo woo” some of these rituals may be (tbh I don’t think they are), they can be the deciding factor in whether they perform well once the game or match starts.

The Chessmaster

For athletes with a Chessmaster approach to their pre-game ritual, the game starts before the game even starts!

As I already mentioned, Nadal falls into this category and so does his protege, Carlos Alcaraz, who juggles before matches to get out of his head and into his body. And no, Alcaraz is not training to become a Cirque Du Soleil performer (even though I would love that for him in retirement as a side quest).

Chessmasters are sickos (complimentary).

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson shows zero emotion during warmups. He’s focused and locked in to a degree I truly don’t think the human mind can comprehend.

These athletes use absurd tactics to get into their opponents’ heads and throw them off course.

And! It! Works!

The Jokester

Don’t @ me, but I don’t think Alcaraz falls into this category. Even though Alcaraz is juggling, he’s not doing it to get a laugh. He’s doing it to mess with the competition.

Athletes like Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who implement The Jokester pre-game ritual, are ones who really are laughing and playful before their matches start.

@wnbaA look inside the pregame routine of a 2x Champ 👀 Tune in to NBA TV tonight at 8pm/ET as A’ja Wilson and the @Las Vegas Aces take on the Minnesota Lynx! #wnba

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The! MVP! Is! Dancing!

I actually think a relaxed attitude may be the best approach. Listen: I’m not a sports psychologist, but I do think it makes a significant difference if you’re out there having a good time.

You get to play a sport for your job and what is better than that?!

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Here’s a suggestion: If you’re a professional tennis player and you’re in Mallorca for a tournament, maybe don’t do drugs.

Tennis player Nick Kyrgios is facing the music after he was provisionally suspended from the sport for testing positive for cocaine.

To learn more about this story, get updates on Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns’ wedding, and hear about a new sports reality show that Kim Kardashian is producing, you’ll need to be a paying subscriber.

I’ve been writing this newsletter for six years as a one-woman operation and your support helps me keep doing this.

Annual subscriptions are currently 20% off, but if you prefer to pay monthly, it’s just a little over $1/week! Your support really means the world.

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Now onto the mess.

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Finally, we have some incredible news from the Athlete Wedding Industrial Complex: A WAG wore something interesting at her wedding!

Last weekend, New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods got married in Malibu.

Kylie Jenner attended the nuptials with Knicks super fan Timothée Chalamet and were photographed hanging out with Justin and Hailey Bieber.

Ben Stiller, another Knicks super fan, was seen going into the wedding, as well. Of course, the Knicks roster was in attendance (duh), so maybe that means we’ll get another video of Jalen Brunson on the dance floor.

While we haven’t gotten official photos from the wedding (I’m guessing it’s gonna be shot by Jose Villa, even though I would’ve loved to see them work with someone like John Dolan), we have been given an invasive gift from Page Six of drone photos of the ceremony and a PR-approved gift from Vogue of Woods’ final dress fitting.

When I saw the story from Vogue, I gasped: Woods worked with New York City’s favorite cool-girl designer, Danielle Frankel, on three custom looks for her big day.

As an Athlete Wedding Expert, the only other instance I have seen of a WAG wearing Danielle Frankel was MLB WAG and trial attorney Eve Levin’s wedding, also featured in Vogue back in 2023.

No shade to Ms. Levin, but we haven’t seen a WAG of Woods’ stature wear Danielle Frankel before and let me just say: Thank god.

The! Curse! Has! Been! Lifted! Once! More!

There is nothing wrong with WAGs choosing to wear more dresses from more “traditional” designers, but there is something so refreshing about seeing Woods pick an interesting designer for her big day.

I am manifesting a day in the near future when we get a WAG working with and I cannot wait for that time to come.

For those asking about a flower analysis, from what I can tell, they don’t look very compressed (again, thank god), but I’ll wait to give my full take on once we get the official photos.

Presumably, from Vogue, of course.

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• Speaking of weddings, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez finally got married. The photos were shot by Juergen Teller and were not what I expected from the pair—nor what I expected from wedding photos. I’m sorry to that man but…let me know what you think in the comments. (via Vogue)

• That viral moment of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert kissing his fiancée Madison Beer at training camp was allegedly part of a coordinated content rollout by the NFL. (via Front Office Sports)

• Soccer legend David Beckham really is just Victoria Beckham’s Instagram husband. (via Page Six)

• Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James launched a golf YouTube channel. I watched the first vlog from his trip to Scotland with former 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers teammates in its entirety. The bulk of it is them literally playing golf, but the most interesting moment comes about halfway through when James’ former teammate, J. R. Smith, talks about how he can’t really watch basketball now that he’s retired. The episode already has 1.4MM views and James is almost at half a million subscribers in two days. (via YouTube)

Just Something I’m Into

Not sponsored, just something I’m really into!

Being tall with big boobs does not make finding swimsuits (especially one-pieces) the easiest. I was tipped off by a friend to Left On Friday and I can’t say enough good things about them.

I got this one-piece that has a tall length and this two-piece set that works on my big boobs. Their swim is currently 30% off (I think today is the last day FYI) and who doesn’t love a deal?!

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The last time I remember Tom Brady posting a photo of nature with three heart emojis and a song over it on his Instagram Story, reports surfaced that his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, was having a baby with her jiu-jitsu instructor boyfriend (now husband).

Last weekend, Brady posted another photo of nature. With three heart emojis. And a song playing in the background.

The first time Brady used The Chicks’ cover of ‘Landslide’ and this time he used Black Coffee’s song, ‘Ready For You’.

As an expert on Brady’s Instagram (which I have discussed many times here and on ), we know from his historical posting record that he uses his public social media account to process things going on in his life, in real time.

Whether that’s reminiscing about football, posting about being a father, or posting thirst traps to get the attention of someone who may or may not be starring in a new Netflix reality show this fall, Brady uses Instagram as a way to communicate what he is feeling in a way you rarely see from public figures on their public social media accounts.

When Brady posted this latest Instagram Story slide, I immediately clocked that he may be #goingthroughit again—and perhaps hinting that he’s dating someone new?

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Ever since LeBron James was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s been a noticeable shift in the way he’s been posting on Instagram.

James has always been a very chronically online professional athlete, posting iconic memes like “Smiling through it all can’t believe this my life” and those selfie videos of him being driven to games in the back of expensive cars.

Since James announced in a series of tweets with spelling errors and weird spacing that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and taking his talents to Philly, he has started posting on his Instagram Stories like a person going through a divorce.

In the same way that Tom Brady began crashing out on Instagram after his divorce from Gisele Bündchen, James appears to be processing the fact that he is going to have to retire from the sport he loves via…sharing inspirational quotes and AI-generated illustrations on his Instagram Story to his 154 million followers.

I’ve been monitoring this over the past few weeks and it has only increased in frequency.

At first, James was sharing one or two quotes you would find on Pinterest. Now, he’s sharing more slides than any social media manager would recommend you publish if you want to maintain a high Story completion rate (iykyk).

There have been a few main categories of content he’s been sharing:

1. Highlighted inspirational quotes:

   

2. Quotes about famous (and macho) men in history:

   

3. His wife’s skincare line:

As I am typing this, James just posted seven more quotes to his Story. Seven!

Listen: Posting quotes that motivate you to strive for greatness in what will likely be James’ last season as a professional basketball player isn’t harming anyone, but I do fear we may be watching in real-time one of the greatest athletes of all time coming to terms with the fact that he can no longer play the sport that he loves at the level he wants to for much longer.

In the same way Brady has continued to crash out on Instagram (albeit posting less inspirational quotes), maybe James is using his public Instagram account as a way to cope with the fact that a chapter in his life is closing.

Does the strategy make a whole lot of sense? No, but neither did his wordy and spelling error-riddled 76ers announcement.

Given James appears to be increasing the cadence of his Stories, I don’t think he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert seems to be having the time of his life at training camp with his fiancée, Madison Beer. (via X)

• Well, it looks like FIFA president Gianni Infantino isn’t getting fired (as of now). (via BBC)

• Inside The NBA host Kenny Smith got married at Pelican Hill and the flowers (and bride’s dress) are certainly compressed! (via New York Post)

• Pittsburgh Steelers star Aaron Rodgers went on The Pat McAfee Show and said…some things. (via YouTube)

• Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton got married and 50 Cent performed. Congrats! Can’t wait for the upcoming Vogue exclusive. (via X)

Just Something I’m Into

Not sponsored, just something I’m really into!

Maybe I’m scarred from forgetting to wear sunscreen and being ghostly pale, but I have been searching for UPF clothing that isn’t ugly.

I stumbled upon Claudent after posted about them on her Instagram Story and I am obsessed.

Some of my favorites include their button up, this dress, and this top that almost feels like an elevated going out top.

It’s not the cheapest, but imo investing in clothing that actually protects your skin is worth it (and cheaper than lasers)!

If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. Please consider becoming a paying subscriber for just $5/month to support the work that I’m doing.

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I can’t believe the World Cup is almost over.

On Sunday, Spain will play Argentina (in front of Donald Trump, apparently) at MetLife and you really couldn’t write this ending if you tried.

I’m manifesting a last-minute ticket to the match (and to the Noah Kahan concert this weekend at Citi Field), so if anyone has any leads on either, reach out to me.

I will give you some good sports gossip in return! 🫶🏼

Anyways!

From Spain star Lamine Yamal being bathed by Argentina star Lionel Messi as a baby (yes, that photo is real) to this likely being Messi’s final World Cup, you couldn’t script this matchup.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Messi and his overall brand leading up to and during this World Cup.

Last year, I wrote a piece about how he is the best soccer player in the world, but has the worst Instagram strategy.

For part of my master’s thesis at Oxford, I analyzed every in-feed post Messi shared over a year and found that nearly half were paid partnerships. Many of them were blurry. Sometimes multiple posts in a row!

While I may be a Sports Gossip Expert, I am still a sociologist and former social media manager for public figures at heart and have been keeping tabs on Messi’s Instagram strategy.

What I found was…curious.

In the month leading up to the World Cup, nearly 70% of his in-feed posts were paid partnerships. That’s 16 of 23 in-feed posts and, once again, many were published back to back.

These partnerships included ones that make sense, like Adidas, and others that were….odd, like a paid partnership with his own fragrance line, Messi Fragrances.

Of course, I looked into the fragrance line.

Messi currently has five fragrance lines, ranging from $9.99 for an AXE body spray dupe to $95 for a Dior Sauvage dupe.

The website’s copy looks like it is almost entirely written by AI. My favorite word salad paragraph is this one:

Wearing the Leo Messi Fragrance is more than an experience; it’s an invitation to discover and celebrate the greatness within yourself. It’s a reminder that, like Messi, you have layers of strength, depth, and authenticity that define who you are. Let this scent be your silent yet powerful statement to the world—a testament to the extraordinary qualities that lie beneath your daily exterior.

I ran some of the copy through an AI detector and…well the results speak for themselves:

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At the beginning of last year, I wrote one of my most popular newsletters to date about how all athlete weddings look the same.

While we still don’t know what Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Madison Square Garden looked like on the inside, I am working on something on the subject, so sit tight.

I’m probably due to send a part two soon, because the trend of compressed flowers (as and I coined on ) has extended beyond over-the-top ceremonies and receptions to the actual proposals themselves.

The proposals have all the elements that make up the Athlete Wedding Aesthetic: White or pink flowers shoved close together, some sort of arch behind them, and more hurricanes than necessary to get the romantic point across.

However, I think we may have discovered a new subgenre of the Athlete Proposal Aesthetic that we’ve never seen before: The Weeping Compressed Chandelier.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London proposed to his girlfriend Sofia Rose Gabay under what I’ve just described above.

I said this on today’s episode, but it really does remind me of some set piece that would’ve been featured in the live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast.

The ChandaFlowerPost could also be something that a host on Magnolia Network tries to teach viewers how to DIY themselves that ends in tears at your local Michaels.

There’s something fantastical, whimsical, and just wacky in a way that still feels like it falls within the Athlete Proposal Aesthetic, but with a new interpretation of the Pinterest rulebook.

The elements are still there. The white and pink flowers! A little bit of compression! A touch of greenery!

I haven’t been able to find the florist who did this installation, but if you know who did it please send me an email.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• San Antonio Spurs announcer Jacob Tobey is out of a job after he reportedly had an affair with the sister of a player on the team. (via Front Office Sports)

• The FBI is investigating the Argentine Football Association for possible fraud and money laundering as the team plays in the World Cup. (via Yahoo Sports)

• Speaking of Argentina, I am still not over this reaction to Lionel Messi’s equalizing goal in their comeback against Egypt. (via X)

• Sadly, Coco Gauff won’t be playing in her first Wimbledon final after she lost in three sets to Karolína Muchová, but she is currently starring in an incredible Miu Miu x New Balance collab for the second year in a row. (via Miu Miu)

• Jack Antonoff was spotted wearing a New York Knicks championship t-shirt amid rumors he and his wife, Margaret Qualley, are getting divorced. (via The New York Post)

Just Something I’m Into

If you’ve been a longtime reader, then you’ll know that I’ve dealt with adult acne for years. I’ve tried a lot of treatments and a lot of different aestheticians to find what works.

Managing acne really is a sport and I am a professional at this point.

I’m working on an Adult Acne Black Book for paying subscribers since many of you have asked, but in the meantime I wanted to highlight someone who has truly transformed my skin.

Since moving back to New York, I started seeing Sarah Jacqueline who opened up her own space after working at Sofie Pavitt (another acne expert GOAT).

She is truly so knowledgeable and has made the world of difference with her recommendations and treatments.

Book With SJ

Once again, not sponsored I just think she is great!

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It’s very hot in New York City this week. That’s partially due to global warming and the fact that the tea is piping surrounding Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s rumored nuptials at Madison Square Garden later this week.

Crews were spotted loading in equipment into the Garden labeled…“Garden Party 1 (scenic)”.

The deliveries were covered in black tarp, presumably so someone doesn’t reverse Google image search a chair and call every party rental company in the northeast corridor to see what they’re for.

I’m guessing Swift is getting married at The Garden, but that she already held a private ceremony elsewhere that we will never know about.

Given that there was a permit request around MSG from July 2nd-4th, one would assume this is a party for Swift and Kelce’s famous friends. And that party is a wedding.

There’s been speculation about who might be planning an event of this scale.

For some reason, Swifties began speculating online that it was event designer Rishi Patel.

Patel had worked on big-budget weddings in the past, like this one below, so he definitely has the experience to take on Swift’s wedding.

And yesterday more fuel was added to the fire when Patel posted an Instagram Story slide (left) and reposted a slide from Samantha Roberts (right), a wedding content creator:

While I would love for chronically online sleuths to have successfully predicted who is planning the nuptials, I hate to break it to you, but the event he’s talking about is a party for the New York Knicks that he designed alongside fellow planner to the stars, Marcy Blum.

I came to this realization via a strange hostage-esque video of Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy as they say in unison, “It’s not a Marcy Blum party until we walk in.”

It’s deadpan. No smiles. And perhaps someone behind the camera said, “If you don’t film this, the trophy will be taken away for good.”

Listen: There’s obviously a chance that Patel is still working on Swift’s wedding and perhaps this was an easter egg, but I don’t think someone who is publicly posting about how planning the Knicks party was a career highlight is the person Swift and Kelce are working with.

Or maybe it is?

Whoever that person may be, they are under a Tree Paine-approved NDA that is probably so ironclad that we will never know whether they think it’s the best event they’ve worked.

And given how the flowers looked at the proposal, I’m hoping that they are, once again, not compressed.

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• Larsa Pippen’s ex-boyfriend and NBA player Malik Beasley was indicted on federal gambling charges. (via NBC News)

• I’m obsessed with tennis player Naomi Osaka’s outfit for Wimbledon. (via The Athletic)

• Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was just traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. (via Yahoo Sports)

• Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is leaving the team to play elsewhere. My money is still on a Cleveland reunion… (via ESPN)

• Tennis star and Trinity Rodman’s boyfriend, Ben Shelton, was just upset at Wimbledon in the first round. (via ATP)

Just Something I’m Into

Not sponsored, just really something I’m into!

If you went to college in the mid-2010s then you may be familiar with this item: The Nike Tempo shorts. I wore them practically every day at Georgia with an oversized sorority t-shirt and I love them dearly.

And they’re $34!

I love my Relax Lacrosse and HORSE shorts as much as the next person, but there is something so nostalgic about these Tempo shorts.

I wore them to workout this morning with Claire Prince and I forgot just how good they are…

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The first time a video from belly dancer and choreographer Jez Shuvani came across my FYP, it was of a group of five women dancing in a circle to Janet Jackson’s ‘Miss You Much’ in honor of Galentine’s Day.

Shuvani writes in the caption that the dance was “…inspired by a scene in Hustlers” and the video has 2MM views.

@jezshuvaniInspired by a scene in Hustlers. We decided to do a dance circle for every holiday. This one is Galentine’s Day!!❤️ #JezFever #ShuvaniDanceCompany #bellydance #FunTinyDances #MangledHandOnTheMend #HolidayDancing #Hustlers

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I began getting served more and more videos of Shuvani and her friends dancing to different songs.

Usually, it’s the same (or similar) group of women and it’s always in the same place: Shuvani’s basement, which doubles as a studio, as she told me.

I feel like Shuvani’s videos have reached a new level of viral after she posted a dance circle, where they are dancing to When In Rome’s hit, ‘The Promise’. It currently has 1.4MM views in just a few weeks.

@jezshuvaniThursday night dance circle. I used to listen to this song on repeat. It’s a great song. Anyone else overplay this tune?? #J#JezFeverS#ShuvaniDanceCompanyJ#JezShuvaniJ#JezFeverDanceCircle

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I’ve now been served dozens of TikTok videos of users dancing to Shuvani’s choreography and I can’t stop watching. I love them all!

I’m not the first person to say this, but I’ve definitely noticed a resurgence over the past few years in dance-based workouts, content, and apparel.

There’s adult women taking dance classes. It could be beginner ballet (me) in a Yumiko leotard (also me) from teachers like Angela Trimbur or studios like Moves Pure Joy and Ryan Heffington’s now-closed studio, The Sweat Spot, in Silverlake, Los Angeles.

Maybe it’s a workout class that is either explicitly a dance class or has dance elements, like The Class, Forward Space, or Kara Duval’s online workout studio, Range.

Or you are wearing dance-themed fits from brands like NikeSKIMS and their ballet-inspired collection or Reformation’s collaboration with The New York City Ballet.

Perhaps it’s a combination of all of these things and you’ve just watched GAP’s viral ‘Milkshake’ ad with Katseye on repeat that the internet recreated again and again and again.

The people yearn to move their bodies, so it makes sense that Shuvani’s videos have continued to go viral.

I spoke with Shuvani over Instagram DMs about her background as a belly dancer and choreographer.

Shuvani also shared with me how the viral dance circles started out of “…sheer laziness” (yes, really), answers FAQs about where they film the videos, how she chooses the music, and much more.

@jezshuvaniThursday Night Dance Circle!! Join us for some Cake!! #JezFever #ShuvaniDanceCompany #JezShuvani #JezFeverDanceCircle

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An Interview With JezFever

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can follow Jez Shuvani on TikTok here and see her dance circle perform in October at the Masque of the Red Death Party at the Akron Civic Theater.

Can you tell me a little bit more about your dance background? How long have you been a dancer and teaching dance?

I first started belly dancing when I took a beginning class at a cultural center. I thought it would be fun. I got hooked right away and now I’ve been belly dancing for over 20 years.

@jezshuvaniWe danced to this song awhile back but I didn’t love it so I thought it would be fun to do it again and change a few things. #JezFever #ShuvaniDanceCompany #JezShuvani #JezChoreography

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I started teaching in 2004. I taught at Kent State University for six years. I taught at a high school for the survey dance class for about 10 years.

I’ve taught workshop classes at Purdue, Ohio State and Cleveland State, as well.

This was all during the heyday when belly dance was very popular.

I love your viral dance circle videos. Can you share how those started?

The viral dance circle started out of laziness!! I had planned to go to Ontario for November and December in 2024, because that’s where I spent all my holidays when I was a child (I’m Canadian).

A week before I was supposed to leave, I shattered a finger on my right hand. I had to have surgery and go to occupational therapy for months.

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I can guarantee you that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani does not know his face is being used in an ad for Touchland, the hand sanitizer brand you see when checking out at Sephora.

I was scrolling on TikTok yesterday when I came across this paid ad from the brand:

I immediately recognized a few things about this photo: 1. It’s the mayor! 2. It’s Jordyn Woods’ lucky bag! 3. It’s from the Knicks championship parade!

When you swipe, you are served two more paid ads from the parade, one of which includes Mamdani again:

Woods has a partnership with Touchland.

I would assume part of her contract allows the brand to run paid ads against her content, but I don’t think the mayor has a partnership with a hand sanitizer brand...

I thought surely this was a mistake, but this morning I was served the same series of ads, so clearly they have not paused the campaign.

As a friendly reminder, the mayor of New York City is not allowed to be in paid ads or endorsements of any kind while in office, so I certainly think his team is not aware that this campaign is running with his face as the first thing you see.

I’ll be curious whether Touchland takes down the ads or keeps them running and hopes no one (besides me) notices…

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat in the middle of the night. (via ESPN)

• New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is writing a children’s book. (via Instagram)

• Philadelphia Eagles star DeVonta Smith got married earlier this month and the flowers…are very compressed. I spoke with a florist who estimates the flowers alone could very well be in the six figures… (via PEOPLE)

• Former Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová has been suspended from professional tennis until 2030 after refusing to take a doping test. (via The Athletic)

• Have you been following the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers reunion vacation to Scotland and St. Tropez? Well, Kevin Love just posted a ‘Hangover’-themed recap. (via Instagram)

Just Something I’m Into

I posted about this on my Instagram Story last night, but this MELT Method foam roller has changed my life. This is not sponsored (I wish!), but my favorite Pilates instructor turned me on to it and I haven’t looked back (pun intended) since.

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No player had more fun during the New York Knicks’ playoff run than Karl-Anthony Towns.

While Finals MVP Jalen Brunson was “…doing something about it”, carrying the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, and OG Anunoby was not smiling, Towns was beaming from ear to ear throughout the Knicks’ historic run.

Towns seemed more relaxed and certainly more at ease in those high-pressure moments during those absurd Knicks comebacks.

He’s attributed some of that to the presence he feels of his late mother, Jackie, who died of COVID-19 complications in 2020.

You could also see how relaxed he is during the Knicks’ championship parade and ceremony yesterday.

I had the honor of attending both and I do not think Towns stopped smiling at any point during the day.

You’re also able to see a different side of Towns through these mini-documentary/reality TV episodes he’s been dropping on Instagram that I can’t stop watching.

While yes, we are getting a Towns-approved behind-the-scenes look at his life during this wild run, I do feel like we are seeing a different side of an athlete that we don’t typically see in the Sports Documentary Industrial Complex.

It’s very smart to capitalize on the increased attention Towns is getting by releasing these now and giving fans access in real time.

He’s not waiting for a streamer to pick it up and it doesn’t look like they got a sponsor for the series. The moment for this series to drop is this very second!

I do feel like he now has a proof of concept for those possibilities in the future and I know people (myself included) would eat it up.

Give! Us! A! Wedding! Episode!

I feel like we’ll be getting a parade day vlog before we know it…

Other Pointless (Championship Parade/Ceremony) Gossip

• Get that championship bag WAG$: Jordyn Woods partnered with Reese’s and Patron. Shannon Hart posted about Crocs and Maker’s Mark. Ali Brunson also collaborated with Crocs. Very smart moves! (via Instagram)

  

• Mikal Bridges brought his dog and a camcorder to the parade. Kinda wish he had gone live again… (via X)

• Curious how Nike ended up going with that bedazzled championship t-shirt? There’s a good behind-the-scenes look into the design process from GQ. I still want one in a size medium please if anyone has leads DM me. (via GQ)

• Timothée Chalamet hugged AOC. (via X)

• NYPD thought Knicks player Tyler Kolek was a fan trying to get on the parade route. (via Bleacher Report)

• I can’t stop watching this clip. (via X)

• You can own a mini version of the Knicks-themed DNSY trash can. (via OnlyNY)

• Some guy brought a snake to the parade. (via X)

Just Something I’m Into

They say the sunscreen you’ll wear is the one you’ll use all the time. As someone with acne-prone skin, a lot of the viral sunscreens don’t jive with me.

The only one I trust with my life is this one from Sofie Pavitt. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve preached about her holy grail mandelic acid before, as well.

It’s lightweight, doesn’t have a strange smell, and doesn’t break me out!

And! This! Is! Not! Sponsored!

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After flying to San Antonio (what feels like lightyears ago now) to participate in the NBA’s first-ever Podcast Row with and then spending the next week and a half covering that historic New York Knicks’ Finals run, I have lost my voice.

I! Don’t! Care!

The Knicks are officially NBA Champions. I ate celebratory cake from (a lifelong Knicks fan btw) and then ran down the street to watch people set off fireworks to the chant of “Jalen Brunson MVP” on repeat.

In the middle of one of the craziest and most historic runs in sports history, the World Cup is underway.

Of course, this is a newsletter dedicated to stories in sports off-the-pitch, so it’s only fitting that I dedicate an entire newsletter to everything off-the-pitch that I think you need to know about the World Cup.

I won’t be covering who I think will win based on the strength of their stars’ on-the-pitch performance, but if you’re reading this newsletter, then you probably knew that.

What I will cover: All of the major storylines, the hottest coaches, the players you should be paying attention to, fun facts you can discuss with coworkers when you have nothing to talk about, and more.

Enjoy!

⚽️The Major Storylines⚽️

The Last (GOAT) Dance

Soccer legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both making their record sixth (and final) World Cup appearances.

Messi is on his farewell tour and he’s already completed football, so he’s really just out there to have a good time!

TBH that attitude could work in the Argentinian’s favor…Not to get too sports-y but….

It’s also the last World Cup for Brazilian star Neymar. He’s not GOAT-ed in the same way Messi and Ronaldo are, but the trio have been the most famous soccer players for the past 15-20 years and have set a new standard for the level of fame a soccer player can reach in the age of social media.

I must admit: I will miss them!

USMNT Are Nepo Babies (I’ll explain)

It’s hard to predict how good the USMNT will be, because the host nation gets an automatic spot.

In other (Impersonal Foul) words, it’s like when your dad calls up a friend and gets you an internship that you are not qualified for.

However, they did beat Paraguay in their opening match 4-1, so the vibes are maybe, just maybe, looking up for them?

As much as I would love to see the USMNT win it all, the odds are truly so low. I fear we may end up with an early knockout round crash-out…

It also doesn’t help the situation that the team’s head coach, Mauricio Potticino, reportedly interviewed for another head coaching job while coaching the USMT.

As Troy Bolton once said, you gotta get your head in the game!

Speaking Of Nepo Babies…

Did you know that two of the USMT players are actually nepo babies???

Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter are the sons of former USMT stars.

Reyna is the son of Claudio, a former USMT captain who played in three World Cups. Berhalter is the son of Gregg, who not only was the former coach of the men’s team, but also played in two World Cups.

If these names sound familiar, it’s because the Reyna and Berhalter families were involved in some on-the-pitch and off-the-pitch drama during the 2022 World Cup.

Hopefully, they’ve put their messy past aside for the love of the game.

The More the Merrier Expanded Bracket

This year, they expanded the bracket from 32 to 48 teams.

Obviously, expanding the bracket is a good thing, because it means we’re getting more representation from Asian and African teams, but it could make for some very lopsided games, which isn’t very fun.

I don’t like seeing anyone lose in embarrassing fashion, okay?!

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Have you thought about what’s coming after artificial intelligence?

I wasn’t thinking about it, but apparently Milwaukee Bucks star Kyle Kuzma has been thinking a lot about it.

His answer? Well:

I’ve got to be honest: I don’t really think about Kuzma that much in my day-to-day thoughts about basketball players.

Sometimes, I’ll remember that time he wore that oversized pink sweater (which he now says he wore because he was “…young”) or the fact that he’s engaged to model Winnie Harlow.

Other than that, I am not thinking very much about him.

That is until Kuzma got back on X after letting his account be dormant since July of last year.

His first tweet back online was in March.

It was a quote tweet from a co-founder of Kalshi, a platform Kuzma is an investor in, about a roundtable discussion on adopting prediction markets as an investment strategy that Elon Musk replied to.

Someone who knows more than me can explain this.

Kuzma does not disclose that he is an investor in Kalshi btw.

Kuzma also appears to be a fan of Musk.

He promoted the fact that SpaceX will likely IPO on June 12th, promoted an interview from Ron Baron on why you should invest in the company, and even shared an interview with that Shark Tank guy who was in Marty Supreme talking about how most of the day Musk is awake it’s “…all signal.”

Again, do not ask me what this means. I have no idea.

I started digging into why Kuzma has suddenly become an Online Tech Bro to figure out…What! Is! Going! On! Here!

Since March, Kuzma has tweeted 36 times. In 2025, he tweeted a total of 5 times.

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Happy Friday everyone, especially New York Knicks fans.

I don’t want to jinx it, but….things are looking very good.

Josh Hart entered the press conference eating a pizza from L'industrie and Karl-Anthony Towns showed up with an oversized Birkin.

The Knicks are now 9-0 in the playoffs.

I do think it ended up being the right move for Timothée Chalamet to skip the Met Gala for the first game of round 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers…

It also certainly isn’t hurting the Knicks’ very good vibes that Mayor Zohran Mamdani purchased a ticket in the nosebleeds to attend the game right after he announced a $50 World Cup ticket lottery for New Yorkers.

I also hope we continue seeing Ben Stiller filming highlights from the game on his iPhone (like the director he is) and posting them on X.

As we always discuss on , the vibes really could not be better for the Knicks and more mediocre for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I have a good feeling about this, but like any Knicks fan would say, I am not holding my breath.

Other Pointless Sports Gossip: World Cup Edition

• British soccer star Harry Maguire is “shocked” and “gutted” that he did not make England’s squad. (via AP)

• Speaking of the United Kingdom, they released their roster announcement video and it’s a banger(s) and mash. (via YouTube)

• NBA star LeBron James is among the many familiar faces who will be featured in Nike’s upcoming World Cup campaign. The polaroids kind of remind me of the ones COACD used to publish of models back in the day. (via Complex)

• A new report found that hotel bookings are “well below expectations” in every host city—and FIFA is partially to blame. Is anyone surprised? (via BBC)

• Well, this is a relief: USMNT team star Chris Richards likely won’t miss the World Cup despite sustaining an ankle injury a few weeks back. (via The Athletic)

Just Something I’m Into

I’m inspired by ’s great newsletter on shorts (read it here).

Being tall means so many shorts are NSFW, but there are two pairs I absolutely love and endorse as someone who is taller than the average man.

Up first are my Patagonia 5” Baggies that turned me onto. I have them in multiple colors and I wear them almost every day when it’s above 75 degrees.

If you don’t want to look like you are hiking all the time (which I get), I purchased these AGOLDE jean shorts last summer and they are very much Tall Girl Approved.

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You can follow me on Instagram here, Twitter here and TikTok here. Enjoy the endless void of content!

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For partnership inquiries or to just say hello, email madeline@impersonalfoul.com.

White-labeling a skincare line may land you in Forbes (btw Savannah James just sat down with the outlet to give an update on ReFrame), but white-labeling a family foundation is a legacy builder.

If you’re a professional athlete, having a charitable arm of your brand is a good thing. Obviously.

You’re donating money to causes you care about, but you’re also positioning yourself as a role model. Who doesn’t want that?

Here’s the thing: Launching a 501(c)(3) foundation is a process. It’s a lot of paperwork and takes time.

Rather than deal with the admin that comes with having your own 501(c)(3), many athletes and public figures will hire companies to do all of the work for them, which have their own 501(c)(3) status.

These companies act as umbrella organizations and fiscal sponsors to these public figures and causes.

This is not an uncommon practice and there are a lot of businesses that do this.

Companies like Edward Charles run the family foundations of athletes like Alex Morgan and Chris Paul. The Entertainment Industry Foundation works with Kevin Love, runs the Stand Up To Cancer initiative, and even Charlize Theron’s Africa Outreach Project.

I started digging into these plug-and-play companies for our most recent episode of , where we discovered that country singer Morgan Wallen runs his foundation through Edward Charles.

I get why these public figures would want to work with a company like Edward Charles or The Entertainment Industry Foundation.

It makes things so easy!

For athletes, in particular, having a charity is very good for their image and helps them potentially get nominated for prestigious awards in their sport, like the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which “…recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field.”

Listen: There’s nothing wrong with an athlete having a foundation or working with a company like this to do the grunt work of getting it set up.

These companies exist because there is market demand.

The demand (at least in part) is coming from athletes and public figures who want to boost their image, do good in their communities, and make tax-deductible donations in the process.

I highly recommend reading up on some of the ways these athlete charities have fallen short, like this ESPN piece from 2013 or this one from earlier this year on a certain famous NFL star.

Oh, and listen to our episode that touches on the topic. 🫶🏼

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• Oh oh: There could be scheduling issues at Penn Station if the New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals during the World Cup. (via The Gothamist)

• Speaking of the World Cup, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reduced the round-trip bus fare from $80 to $20 after public outcry. It should be free IMO. (via USA Today)

• Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was fired. Are we surprised? GO KNICKS. (via ESPN)

• I could write 10,000 words on the absurd press conference from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez that you could not write if you tried. (via The Athletic)

• The U.S. is denying reports that they denied visas for five Iraqi soccer players ahead of the World Cup. (via Front Office Sports)

Just Something I’m Into

This is a new series where I share something I’m into, because you asked for it! It could be an acne skincare product that actually works, a new pair of shoes I love, or a sports documentary that is actually saying something. Enjoy!

Have you heard of the sneaker brand, Pane? They’re from China and I’m obsessed with every one of their styles. I love the ones below and these. Have you tried?

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For partnership inquiries or to just say hello, email madeline@impersonalfoul.com.

If one of your star players gets into a fight with a teammate and needs to go to the hospital…I don’t think things are going GREAT for your organization.

Real Madrid stars Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were reportedly involved in a dressing room altercation at the club’s training grounds that left Valverde hospitalized.

Obviously, this is bad BAD. To make things even worse, the pair allegedly got into a separate altercation the day before!

So! Much! Mess!

Real Madrid released a statement saying that Valverde suffered a head injury and that the club will announce the results of disciplinary proceedings “…in due course.”

To make things even more chaotic, Valverde released a statement claiming: 1. He hadn’t been hit and 2. He hadn’t hit his teammate:

“Today we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally banged my head against a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.”

Maybe hold off on saying anything for a beat???

These two incidents only add fuel to the fire for Real Madrid.

Last month, another player for the club, Antonio Rudiger, was allegedly involved in an argument with another teammate.

A few weeks later, star Kylian Mbappé got into an “angry flare-up” with a member of Real Madrid’s staff. Oh, and he was photographed laughing as he was leaving the training facility after a team meeting related to the most recent fight between Valverde and Tchouameni.

What! Is! Going! On!

Real Madrid couldn’t have worse vibes right now, I’m sorry.

They are set to play in El Clásico (the rivalry match between Real Madrid and Barcelona) in two days.

Barcelona doesn’t seem to be too worried about the match.

Why would they be concerned when their opponent is in-fighting and Barcelona is over there posting photos of their own players that look like happy stock images like this:

And this:

It’s highly unlikely that Real Madrid will win El Clásico and now it’s even less likely given this week’s turn of events…

What Paying Subscribers Got This Week

Savannah James, the wife of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, launched a luxury skincare brand in May of last year.

She hired ex-Glossier employees, secured blue chip press, and then…nothing?

I even reached out to the only email address listed on their website to get the one-year results of the study they reportedly conducted with Howard University, only to be directed back to their website with the eight-week results I already found.

I spent hours looking into this and I hope you enjoy it!

Read The Full Story

Other Pointless Sports Gossip

• After the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, Austin Reaves held an on-court meeting between the Lakers and the refs and created a new LeBron James meme in the process. (via X)

• Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert made his music video debut in his girlfriend Madison Beer’s new single that just dropped. (via YouTube)

• Shakira unveiled the official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (via BBC)

• Basketball cures all: Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods were spotted celebrating the New York Knicks win over the Philadelphia 76ers. (via X)

• Kim Kardashian took her boyfriend and F1 star Lewis Hamilton to see the Broadway play she’s producing. (via Page Six)

• Speaking of Jenner, her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet is currently starring in a five-minute short film for Adidas ahead of the World Cup. I’ll leave you with it to watch in full, because it’s so good:

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