The Undefeated, ESPN’s new multimedia platform that will explore the intersections of sports, race and culture, will launch on May 17. Kevin Merida, Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the site, made the announcement today at a company employee forum.
TheUndefeated.com will combine innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, original reporting and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain African Americans, as well as sports fans seeking a deeper understanding of black athletes, culture and related issues. The name, The Undefeated, is inspired by a passage from American poet, author and civil rights leader Maya Angelou: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Merida, a former Washington Post managing editor, joined ESPN in November 2015, and has since broadened the vision for the site. His senior management team includes managing editor Raina Kelley, a former deputy editor at ESPN the Magazine; deputy editor for enterprise and narrative, Steve Reiss, once a deputy assistant managing editor at the Washington Post Style section; and deputy editor for digital innovation, Latoya Peterson, former editor-at-large at Fusion and a 2013 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.