2025 in Sports: Legacy, Scandals, and the Stories That Shaped the Year

As 2025 comes to a close, Sportly looks back at a year that reshaped sports far beyond the scoreboard. Host Kavitha Davidson reflects on defining moments across leagues and borders—from historic performances by A’ja Wilson and Shohei Ohtani to the cultural impact of the NBA’s new media era, the resurgence of tennis rivalries, and the continued growth of women’s sports. This year-end episode revisits some of Sportly’s most meaningful stories, including the political legacy of ping-pong diplomacy, the origins of women’s sports in the U.S., the Boston Marathon as a site of collective memory, Canada’s national identity through the Toronto Blue Jays, and the ongoing fight for Indigenous sovereignty in lacrosse ahead of the 2028 Olympics. The episode also confronts the more complex truths of 2025: sports betting scandals, labor disputes, media consolidation, and what happens when billion-dollar sports institutions struggle to regulate themselves. Looking ahead, Kavitha explores what’s coming next: the 2026 World Cup in North America, the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and the unanswered questions that will define the future of sports. Sportly is a podcast about sports, culture, politics, and identity, and why the stories behind the games matter just as much as the games themselves. Host: Kavitha A. Davison | Producer: Paroma Chakravarty I Executive Producer: Saadia Khan | Fact Checking and Research: Paroma Chakravarty I Sound Designer & Editor: Paroma Chakravarty I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art Graphic Designer: Sarah DiMichele Want to go deeper into your own identity? Download Belong on Your Own Terms, the app helping first-gen, second-gen, and third-culture kids reclaim belonging on their own terms. link below ⁠http://studio.com/saadia⁠ Join us in creating new intellectual engagement for our audience. You can get more information at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify to help more people find us! Remember to subscribe to our Apple podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. You can reach the host, Kavitha, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠kavitha@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on TikTok @immigrantly Sportly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at info@immigrantlypod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices