Mark Fainaru-Wada

Mark Fainaru-Wada

Mark Fainaru-Wada is an ESPN journalist who works as an investigative reporter, unearthing hidden truths in sports. He has been responsible for several in-depth investigations that have exposed misconduct, abuse, and corruption at the highest levels.

Fainaru-Wada is also an author whose works brought national attention to the use of steroids in Major League Baseball and the dangers of concussions in football. His projects sparked intense debates on accountability, league responsibility, and athlete safety in professional sports.

Outside of his books, Mark Fainaru-Wada has worked on difficult and sensitive stories. Working with Greg Amante, the producer, and Mike Kessler, the reporter, they revealed years of sexual abuse which resulted in arrests and criminal charges for a longtime track coach.

Fainaru-Wada has also looked into Chinese training academies, where he unearthed cases of abuse and mistreatment by coaches. Other projects include reporting on the removal of Bob Costas as host of the Super Bowl in 2018 and the investigation into how Russia used its influence to be awarded the 2018 World Cup.

Mark also examined cases of domestic violence by athletes such as Hope Solo, the U.S. soccer star, and he looked into how the NFL has been inconsistent in punishing players who were accused of such offenses.

Earlier in his career, he teamed up with Lance Williams, his colleague at the San Francisco Chronicle. Working together, they uncovered the BALCO Steroid Scandal, which forced league officials to address major issues in performance-enhancing drug use in the MLB.

In 2006, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams published Game of Shadows, which looked into the BALCO Steroid Scandal. The work tells of how the revival of baseball through the 1998 home run race, before rumors of steroid use began to surface. While some of the best players, such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, shattered records, lab results showed they had undetectable levels of steroids in their blood. Drawing on interviews, documents, and secret grand jury testimony, they reveal the shocking abuse of performance-enhancing drugs, how BALCO had an extensive reach across multiple sports, and the controversial role of prosecutors in protecting athletes under investigation.

In 2013, Mark worked with Steve Fainaru to produce the work League of Denial, in which they investigated the National Football League’s handling of concussions and its connection to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The league dismissed evidence from neuroscientists and even published research denying the impact of repetitive brain trauma, similar to what Big Tobacco used to do. It also tells of the struggles of players such as Junior Seau and Mike Webster, whose deaths showcase the hidden danger of football.

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Mark Fainaru-Wada: F.A.Q