Inside the Sportiest Met Gala Ever
The only post-Met analysis you will ever need. Plus, a full list of athletes in attendance last night, with details on their outfits.
Hi friends! Welcome back to another edition of SportsVerse, your favourite newsletter at the intersection of sports, fashion, culture and business. Powered by OffBall.
The Met Gala happened last night. I hope that wasn’t news to you. But if it was, it means you don’t have social media, live a quiet and peaceful life, and probably got a great night’s sleep.
I’m not here to dissect the theme, or which of the attendees’ outfits ate and which didn’t. There will be plenty of newsletters and podcasts doing that today. We already know that I’m here for one thing and one thing only: SPORTS.
As my friend
and I discussed in OffBall’s Monday newsletter, this was always going to be the sportiest Met Gala ever.Then, on the morning of the big day, LeBron James (a co-chair of this year’s event) pulled out, citing a knee injury he sustained as he and the Lakers were dumped out of the first round of the playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves a few days ago. Luckily, fellow co-chair Lewis Hamilton made it up to New York from the Miami Grand Prix in time, and looked pretty damn good in custom Wales Bonner while he was at it.
In any other year, a major sports star pulling out of the Gala would have put the athlete contingent at the event into endangered species territory. This year, Bron’s absence barely made a dent.
By my very loose count, well over 20 elite athletes past and present attended the Met last night, ranging from Dwyane Wade to Joe Burrow to Serena Williams to Simone Biles to Sha’Carri Richardson to the New York Liberty’s Big Three (Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones) and owner Clara Wu Tsai, all styled by the incredibly talented Courtney D Mays, an OG athlete stylist.
OffBall’s coverage of the night on social media was amazing, and it captured them all — shout out to Mr Mason Burgin — I’ll include a full list of all athlete guests with links to all their outfits below.
Even the non-athletes in attendance played into the sports crossover. Naturally, Spike Lee pulled up wearing a Knicks hat, as his beloved team went 1-0 up in their Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics.
British actor Damson Idris, a co-star of the upcoming monster budget F1 movie was undoubtedly a star of last night’s red carpet. He used the moment (or more likely was contractually obliged) to promote the blockbuster film by turning up in racing gear made by Tommy Hilfiger, the production’s official fashion partner. The suit was quickly and dramatically torn off to reveal some incredible tailoring below, before Idris swept on up the stairs to enjoy his evening, marketing obligations fulfilled.
Also in yesterday’s OffBall newsletter, I spoke of my sadness at Russell Westbrook being snubbed for this year’s Gala. “I wanted to give an honorable mention to Russell, who has been a fixture of the Met Gala for several years now, and in my opinion, deserved a spot on the committee for his services to fashion in sports,” I said, thinking of how Westbrook was wearing Thom Browne skirts at Met Galas long before anyone in fashion knew anything about sports, and vice versa.
Luckily for Russ — who at this point has to be the most frequently referenced athlete on SportsVerse — he had better things to do last night, as he returned to his old stomping ground Oklahoma for some playoff action. And his tunnel fit (above) delivered one of the Met Gala’s most stunning and on-theme looks, from over 1,400 miles away, wearing a jacket that paid homage to the great Andre Leon Talley, the godfather of Black Dandyism, which happened to be last night’s theme.
Back at the Met in New York, 2025 Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and his partner Bryonna (below) were guests of Burberry and the British luxury brand’s creative director, Daniel Lee. Burberry was kind enough to provide a timely breakdown of the inspiration behind Jalen’s bespoke look.
“Jalen Hurts wore a black floral-embroidered velvet double-breasted suit and a white cotton poplin shirt. Worn with a black silk tie and black studded leather Loch brogues.
The look channels dandyism through its fusion of traditional men’s uniforms and hip-hop aesthetics. The double-breasted silhouette is tailored from black velvet and embroidered with tonal florals. A custom-made hat pays homage to styles adopted by rappers from the late 1980s up to the turn of the millennium. Hats were an essential accessory in hip-hop culture, serving as a bold statement of individuality and style.”
Jalen led a contingent of NFL stars that included Saquon Barkley, Stefon Diggs (who wore a custom look by British designer Bianca Saunders), Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, and Justin Jefferson. Barkley was back at the Met after a six-year absence, and luckily for everyone this year, he didn’t come back wearing the shorts he was styled in in 2019. It was a different time.
The night was also a celebration of many of the stars from last summer’s Olympic Games, including the American gold medalist trio Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Noah Lyles, (probably) the fastest three people to ever stand on the Met Gala red carpet at the same time. Noah’s outfit was… interesting. But he looked like he was having a great time, and that’s really all that matters.
Finally, it would have been a glaring omission had the Met not celebrated some of the amazing women behind the renaissance of the WNBA and women’s college basketball over the past two years. As well as the New York Liberty’s championship-winning trio, the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese was in attendance last night, along with the multihyphenate LSU star and rapper Flau’jae Johnson.
Athletes at the Met
Here’s my rundown of every athlete I spotted. I always wish we could see more football (soccer) players at the Gala each year. It would have been great to see Hector Bellerin there, one of the greatest ever proponents of fashion in football. But the European season calendars don’t ever allow for players to be free around this time. Hopefully when he is retired in a few years we will see him and some others start to make an appearance.
Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1)
Dwayne Wade (Basketball)
Serena Williams (Tennis)
Jalen Hurts (NFL)
Gabby Thomas (Track and field)
Jonathan Owens (NFL)
Simone Biles (Gymnastics)
Sha’Carri Richardson (Track and field)
Noah Lyles (Track and field)
Joe Burrow (NFL)
Saquon Barkley (NFL)
Stefon Diggs (NFL)
Russell Wilson (NFL)
Justin Jefferson (NFL)
Sabrina Ionescu (Basketball)
Jonquel Jones (Basketball)
Breanna Stewart (Basketball)
Angel Reese (Basketball)
Flau’jae Johnson (Basketball)
DeAndre Hopkins (NFL)
Miles Chamley-Watson (Fencing)
Who did I miss? Let me know!
That’s all for today, friends. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
See you Thursday for an exclusive interview with a big-time executive speaking to SportsVerse about their company’s innovative partnership with FC Barcelona and Travis Scott!
Until then,
DYM
Venus Williams
Loved what Damson Idris and Tommy Hilfiger pulled off