Author: Michael Martinez

There is a version of this story that makes perfect sense: a retired coach battles illness with the same tenacity that he required on the field. However, if you take the time to consider the specifics of Mark Richt’s circumstances, it becomes more intricate. Something more subdued, and somewhat more truthful. Richt made his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis public in May 2021. For those close to him, the news wasn’t shocking; it seemed that people had noticed a change in his gait, and the questions were becoming so numerous that Richt thought it was time to speak up. He spoke calmly,…

Witnessing a talented athlete gradually vanish due to something that doctors are still trying to identify, rather than a broken bone or torn ligament, which can be repaired with surgery, can be particularly frustrating. It is unsettling to observe the current state of affairs surrounding Kristaps Porzingis. The 31-year-old center for the Golden State Warriors used X on Wednesday, October 14, to respond to the mounting rumors regarding his precise condition. The tone of the post was completely human—resigned and a little irritated. He stated that he is “working with doctors and experts” to regain full health and that he…

Having a condition that makes you look like someone you’re not when it flares up is a particular kind of cruelty. Selma Blair has spent the majority of her adult life managing that circumstance, first in private, then in public, and now in a Queens courtroom. Blair was ejected from a Delta Airlines flight on October 11 following an altercation that, depending on the version you read, included biting one flight attendant, punching another, and allegedly attempting to open the aircraft door in midair. She was arrested by dusk. By morning, her identity had been established by the headlines. What…

Thousands of people stopped mid-scroll at one point in late 2024. The Oscar-winning director of Jojo Rabbit, who once portrayed a vampire concerned about flat whites, Taika Waititi, had shared something on Instagram that didn’t appear to be a joke. The Spinoff claims that his face bore the weight of someone breaking bad news to his three million followers. People hesitated. They held out. Then the moment went by, leaving behind something more difficult to shake. Even after the alarm subsided, that uneasiness persisted. It became ingrained in the growing perception that Waititi has changed in some way over the…

For the past five years, Christina Applegate has rebuilt her identity around a diagnosis—something that most people only do once. She declared her multiple sclerosis to the world. She started speaking out for it. She penned a memoir. She took infusions, sat in doctors’ offices, and described her illness in interviews with the kind of worn-out clarity that only comes from spending years inside something. Then, at some point recently, a physician entered her room and congratulated her on not having multiple sclerosis. Applegate talked about that moment in tears on her podcast MeSsy this week. It’s not the kind…

Witnessing a worldwide celebrity acknowledge that she did something “stupid” with a small, self-deprecating laugh has an unexpectedly raw quality. Selena Gomez shared a short but incredibly honest Instagram Story on Sunday, October 18. She talked about nicotine, her voice, and how she wishes she had known better. There was no glam squad or carefully crafted publicist statement. The duration of the video was approximately one minute. The impact has persisted for much longer. For the better part of two years, Gomez—who turned 34 this past July—has had to deal with quiet but persistent inquiries regarding her voice. Fans saw…

Standing in the deli section of a grocery store and wondering, even for a brief moment, if the sliced turkey you’re going to purchase has been sitting in a warehouse that wasn’t cold enough is a subtly unsettling experience. This week, Kayem Foods Inc. launched one of the biggest ready-to-eat meat recalls in recent memory, removing about 1.58 million pounds of products from shelves and refrigerators nationwide, making that discomfort very real for millions of American consumers. After a cooler malfunction at one of its warehouses caused storage temperatures to drop below acceptable levels, the Chelsea, Massachusetts company—which has been…

When a city loses its quarterback, a sense of quiet dread descends upon it. The circumstances surrounding Jalen Hurts feel different this time, but Philadelphia is familiar with the feeling. More intricate. And, to be honest, more concerning than a sore shoulder or a torn ligament. Hurts’ diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his calf and bilateral pulmonary emboli—blood clots that moved from his leg to both lungs—was confirmed on Monday by the Eagles, confirming what had been developing for almost two weeks. For the season, he is out. He will be closely monitored, treated with anticoagulants, and kept away…