In the wake of someone’s passing, many comments tend to reflect them at their best without diving into any complicating factors. But people are complicated, and a fuller treatment can have its own merits.
That was shown with a X thread Friday on John Feinstein, the famed Washington Post sports columnist who passed at 69 Thursday, from Post digital sports editor Dan Steinberg (known for decades of work there in a variety of capacities, including the D.C. Sports Bog):
That’s why he would pursue his crusades — like against the NCAA’s “corporate champions” and “student-athletes” — in packed rooms, with everyone watching. Why he would blow past helpless security guards to talk to his famous friends.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
But that, of course, is also what made him a powerhouse. He wasn’t polite, he truly didn’t care what anyone thought about him, and he was going to go talk to whomever he damn well wanted to, which is also WHY he knew everyone. Everyone.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
He loved sports, adored them, watched them constantly even when he wasn’t writing about them, had an opinion about everything and everyone, and read the living crap out of The Post sports section, from the D1 stories to the agate type. He had opinions about all of that, too.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
He was stubborn, sometimes to a fault, as in his neverending Strasburg crusade. And on an issue like that no fact or argument would ever pierce his certainty. He made judgments about people that you could never bend.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
He read the comments. He cared about play. He would be happy his obit was on A1. He would probably argue it should have been higher on the page.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
And I think his biggest legacy is what those books did to a whole generation of people like me: Convinced them that taking readers to those places and telling them those stories wasn’t a silly job, but was something real, and important, and worth aspiring to. That was me.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
I dunno. Did he change this profession? Hell yes he did. Did he change my life? Hell yes he did. Was he often a total pain in the ass? Hell yes he was, and I think he would be disappointed if that wasn’t part of his legacy. But will I miss him? Hell yes I will. I already do.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) March 14, 2025
While Steinberg’s thread there is just one of many tributes to Feinstein, it particularly resonates for showing the positives and negatives of working with him, and still coming to a positive conclusion on what he brought to the sportswriting world.
Feinstein was a complicated figure, and his approaches and takes didn’t always work out, and didn’t always resonate with everyone. But he still accomplished an incredible amount, and his work still meant a lot to a lot of people. The synthesis Steinberg provides here of Feinstein’s various aspects is worthwhile, and it helps illustrate why he mattered.
Update: This post initially had Feinstein as 68 rather than 69 due to an error in the Post’s obituary for him. It’s been updated. We regret the error.
