Richard Deitsch is an American sportswriter. He wrote for Sports Illustrated from 1997 until 2018. Currently, he writes for the online publication The Athletic and is a radio host in Toronto. Deitsch graduated with a B.A. in communications and political science from the University at Buffalo. While studying there, he worked on the school's student newspaper, The Spectrum, which fostered in him a love of journalism. This led him to obtain an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism., where he would later become an adjunct professor.