The NewsGuild of New York, the labor union representing more than 2,000 Times workers across three units, dug in to prevent a planned partnership between The Athletic and the prediction market company Kalshi, according to Front Office Sports.
A letter that was unanimously approved by the Times Guild Unit Council and The Athletic’s contract action team was sent to Times owner and publisher A.G. Sulzberger, Athletic publisher David Perpich, and senior editors at The Athletic on Wednesday, demanding that plans surrounding a potential sponsorship and integration deal with Kalshi be abandoned.
“Any partnership between Kalshi and The Athletic would threaten our journalistic independence across the company,” the letter reads. “Despite management’s claim that The Athletic and The New York Times are separate business entities, the journalism and the work are intertwined, as any reader can see.”
The letter argued that any deal beyond Kalshi buying ad space could cause readers to question The Athletic’s journalistic independence when covering sports prediction markets.
A source told FOS that although The Athletic “is not moving forward with Kalshi on a sports betting or prediction-market partnership,” talks remain ongoing regarding other potential advertising or commercial opportunities with the company. FOS’s source added that “the letter did not prompt or play any role in” ending talks on a sports betting or prediction-market partnership, and that several members of The Athletic’s staff were informed of the decision “a few days ago.”
A Kalshi Spokesperson told FOS that the company doesn’t “comment on rumored deals” and that “millions of people use prediction markets like Kalshi to view the forecasts on what’s happening in the world. They’re a great complement to news sites like The Athletic and The New York Times.”
FOS had previously reported that Kalshi and The Athletic were in “advanced talks” over a sponsorship agreement, against the backdrop of legal challenges to prediction markets in various states and courtrooms nationwide.
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have been pushing hard to integrate their platforms with media and journalistic outlets. Not everyone is eager to take money at the expense of their reputation, not to mention the myriad ways these companies have flirted with unethical behavior or simply crossed that line.
The letter also represents the latest in a series of battles in the cold war between New York Times reporters and The Athletic over what the Gray Lady’s staff consider insufficient editorial standards for their sports-centric outlet.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.