I rarely go in for writer-on-writer gossip, but Deadspin’s investigation of now-departed ESPN.com freelancer Sarah Phillips’ backstory is easily the most fascinating thing I’ve read on the Internet in months, at least in terms of its implications for the media and the people we deem authorities around these parts. It’s long, but worth reading in its entirety.

The messed-up thing? Now everyone knows who Sarah Phillips is, which means she’ll probably get hired somewhere else soon.