22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Spectating a Tournament of Strength and Solidarity
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I am a breaking news and general assignment reporter for The New York Times, which means I have written about nearly every conceivable topic, be it cicada invasions, product recalls, the retail evolution of Halloween or Lego pieces that were lost at sea.
The one exception, however, is sports. The topic rarely comes up in my coverage, which is perhaps a good thing. I don't watch any sports. I can barely throw a ball, never mind tell you in detail how to shoot an impressive home run.
But sometimes the stories worth writing find you, even in the middle of reporting on a different one.
In early May, I was visiting the Gecko Gallery NYC, possibly the world's smallest gecko zoo, when the photographer Ann Hermes told me about an amateur sumo club elsewhere in the city. The club was holding its first-ever competition in just a few days.
Immediately I knew this was a 'yarn,' as my editors call it. After all, how does a city known for having everything not have this one particular sport?
But the more I found on social media about the club, the more I realized this was not just an article about a sport, but one about community, New York and resilience.
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