The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Candace Buckner named a columnist for Washington Post Sports

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September 24, 2021 at 9:58 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 17: Candace Buckner, Washington Post Wizards Reporter photographed in Washington, D.C. on August 17, 2016. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Announcement from Sports Editor Matt Vita, Deputy Sports Editor Matt Rennie and Sports Editor and Columnist Dan Steinberg:

We are, as Candace would put it, pleased as punch to announce that Candace Buckner will become a columnist for Sports, where she will write commentary, criticism and essays that focus on how sports shape and illuminate our understanding of culture and society.

Candace joined The Post in August 2016 as the Washington Wizards reporter. During her four years on the beat, the Wizards peaked in the second round of the playoffs and produced more drama than wins, allowing Candace to write the definitive story on Ernie Grunfeld’s failed tenure as general manager and an infamous practice in 2018 when players and coaches got into verbal altercations. During her time on the Wizards beat, she also showed a sports essayist’s flair, writing memorably about Black female athletes and their relationship with their hair, how she found role models on the tennis court even though she doesn’t follow the sport closely, and how she became a hockey fan when the Blues won the Stanley Cup and gave her hometown of St. Louis a much-needed win.

After the Wizards beat, Candace moved on to become an enterprise reporter, focusing on the intersection of race, gender and social issues in sports. In this role, Candace wrote about the WNBA’s archnemesis, former senator Kelly Loeffler; the revival of the Howard University golf team; and the battle scars of Vida Blue, a Black pitching sensation from the 1970s.

Before coming to The Post, Candace spent three years covering the Indiana Pacers at The Indianapolis Star, where she earned Associated Press Sports Editors top 10 honors for breaking news and features in 2016. She has also worked at The Telegraph in Macon, Ga.; The Kansas City Star; and The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash., where she covered high school sports.

Candace is a member of the Mizzou Mafia. Though she graduated from the University of Missouri in 2002 with an emphasis in broadcast journalism, her heart has always belonged to the written word. She is passionate about mentorship and founded Sistas of Sports Journalism, a networking group designed to give a seat at the table to young Black women in the industry.

When not crowing about her alma mater or defending St. Louis-style pizza, she is dodging death in the streets of the District on her road bike, named Dolce Luna.

Please join us in congratulating Candace on her new position.