Wright Thompson — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Senior Writer at ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, a role he assumed full-time in 2006.
Author of The Barn, published by Penguin Press in 2024, which details the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till.
Narrated ESPN 30 for 30 films, including The Ghosts of Ole Miss (2012) and Roll Tide/War Eagle.
Formerly worked as a writer for The Kansas City Star and Times-Picayune in New Orleans.
Graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Biography

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, a position he has held full-time since 2006. Prior to joining ESPN, he developed his sportswriting career at The Kansas City Star and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, where he covered a wide array of sports events, including Super Bowls, Final Fours, The Masters, and The Kentucky Derby.

Thompson is recognized for his narrative journalism, often exploring the cultural and historical dimensions of sports.