A Baez spokesman, Steve Janisse, said the story was removed from the print magazine because it was no longer current and the outlet still planned to publish it online. Sports Illustrated publishes its regular issues once a month and typically has a lead time of several weeks before printing.
“The story hasn’t been taken down,” Janisse said. “I’m sure it might not be normal, but as you can imagine, Orestes is new to this team and there are a lot of changes in the newsroom. I think they’re trying to figure out their roles and their new places.
Apparent interference in the editorial process from the media’s business side is the latest challenge to SI’s morale, following mass layoff notices were sent to almost all staff last monthamid an ongoing dispute over millions of dollars in licensing fees between the outlet’s owner and the publisher.
Baez is de facto CEO of Sports Illustrated after several Arena Group executives were fired in recent weeks by the company’s largest shareholder, 5-Hour Energy founder Manoj Bhargava.
Bhargava invested in Arena last year, then was briefly named interim CEO before relinquishing that role. During an introductory meeting with Sports Illustrated staff late last year, Bhargava lectured the staff about bias in journalism.
Sports Illustrated editor Steve Cannella referred questions Thursday to Arena. Mannix did not respond to a text message. Baez did not respond to an email.
The story in question was an examination of USA Boxing’s new transgender policy that was announced around New Year’s Eve and the backlash it received from various sides of the issue. The policy requires genital reassignment surgery and rigorous hormone testing for transgender athletes before competition, and Mannix’s story cites both supporters of transgender participation in sports and those who oppose it. He cites advocates who pushed for a more inclusive policy, as well as an exercise science professor who said transgender athletes competing against women would still have a physical advantage.
The story was sent to staff members on Tuesday, as was the protocol for final proofs of print magazine articles. Baez is also on these emails. On Wednesday, a new NBA story unexpectedly circulated in its place, several SI staffers said. Multiple people with knowledge of the events said it happened after Baez spoke with Cannella about the story coming out.
Several SI staffers said they were particularly stung by the decision because they believed SI had done outstanding work on the issue of transgender participation in sports, including by former staffer Julie Kliegman and a profile of swimmer Lia Thomas by Robert Sanchez.
The episode comes at a precarious time for Sports Illustrated. The famous publication has been owned since 2019 by Authentic Brands Group, a licensing company best known for owning the brands of non-journalistic entities such as Elvis Presley and Billabong. The Arena Group has reached an agreement to pay $15 million a year for the rights to publish SI in print and online. He missed a $3.75 million payment in January, leading Authentic to revoke the publishing license. Arena then issued layoff notices to almost all staff.
The two sides continue to negotiate a new license that could prevent mass layoffs. Authentic could also sell the publishing license to a new company.
Last week, the union representing SI filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Arena of illegal retaliation and union busting when he sent out the layoff notices.
