The 2019 ESPN Body Issue was more than a collection of nude celebrity portraits. It was a visual documentary about what athletes’ bodies endure: injuries, scars, muscular adaptation, pressure, aging and the psychological cost of performing in public. Released in September 2019, the 11th edition featured 21 athletes from basketball, football, golf, gymnastics, combat sports, motorsport, surfing, climbing and other disciplines.
The issue was also historically significant. Its print edition was the last issue of ESPN The Magazine, making the project both a celebration of athletic bodies and the closing chapter of ESPN’s regular print publication.
When the 2019 Body Issue was released
ESPN announced the athlete roster on August 26, 2019. The digital photographs, videos and written stories followed on September 4, with the print edition reaching newsstands on September 6.
That September issue was the final print edition of ESPN The Magazine. ESPN said its long-form journalism would continue digitally, but the magazine itself would not continue as a normal print publication.
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| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 26, 2019 | ESPN announces the athlete roster |
| September 4, 2019 | Digital photos, videos and stories go live |
| September 6, 2019 | Final print edition of ESPN The Magazine appears on newsstands |
The complete athlete roster
The official announcement listed 21 people. That number needs a small clarification: five athletes appeared together as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, so the roster did not represent 21 separate solo photo features.
| Athlete | Sport or role |
|---|---|
| Scout Bassett | Paralympic track and field |
| Liz Cambage | Basketball |
| Katrin Davidsdottir | CrossFit |
| Brandon Brooks | Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman |
| Lane Johnson | Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman |
| Jason Kelce | Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman |
| Isaac Seumalo | Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman |
| Halapoulivaati Vaitai | Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman |
| Myles Garrett | American football |
| James Hinchcliffe | IndyCar |
| Alex Honnold | Climbing |
| Evander Kane | Ice hockey |
| Brooks Koepka | Golf |
| Nancy Lieberman | Basketball |
| Amanda Nunes | Mixed martial arts |
| Kelley O’Hara | Soccer |
| Katelyn Ohashi | Gymnastics |
| Chris Paul | Basketball |
| Lakey Peterson | Surfing |
| Michael Thomas | American football |
| Christian Yelich | Baseball |
What made the photographs different from ordinary sports portraits?
The images were staged artistic portraits made with the athletes’ consent. They were not leaked photographs or paparazzi images. ESPN presented nudity as a way to remove uniforms, protective equipment and sponsorship branding, leaving the physical evidence of each sport as the central subject.
A golfer’s body, for example, is shaped by rotation and repetition rather than by the visual conventions associated with a bodybuilder. A lineman’s size has a specific tactical purpose. A climber’s physique reflects grip strength, balance and control. The photographs were designed to make those differences visible.
The project also allowed athletes to discuss aspects of their bodies that are usually hidden behind performance statistics. Those subjects included injuries, body criticism, eating disorders, scars, fear and the demands of maintaining an elite physique. The result was closer to a series of visual profiles than to a conventional swimsuit spread.
The Eagles offensive-line group portrait
One of the most unusual entries was a group feature involving five Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen: Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. ESPN identified them as members of the team that won Super Bowl LII.
The group portrait challenged the idea that the Body Issue had to focus on the traditionally marketable image of an individual star. Offensive linemen are among football’s most physically imposing players, but they generally receive less visual attention than quarterbacks, receivers and running backs. Putting the unit together emphasized their shared work, size and physical interdependence.
The seven full-length written features
Although every participant received some combination of photography, interviews, captions or video, seven athletes were given full-length print features:
- Scout Bassett — written by Tim Keown
- Liz Cambage — written by Ramona Shelburne
- Katrin Davidsdottir — written by Wright Thompson
- James Hinchcliffe — written by Ryan McGee
- Alex Honnold — written by Seth Wickersham
- Evander Kane — written by Martenzie Johnson
- Christian Yelich — written by Sam Miller
These pieces supplied the context that a photograph alone could not. The Body Issue’s central argument was not simply that athletes look different without clothes; it was that their bodies carry professional histories.
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Katelyn Ohashi’s material addressed the pressure placed on gymnasts and her experiences with eating disorders and body shaming. Her appearance was framed within a larger story about trying to recover joy in a sport where athletes are constantly judged on appearance as well as performance.
Kelley O’Hara’s feature connected the shoot to her national-team career, the 2019 World Cup season and an ankle injury suffered shortly before the photography session. That context mattered: an athlete’s body is not a static symbol of fitness, but something that can be injured, rehabilitated and asked to perform again under a tight schedule.
Other participants represented different kinds of physical history. Alex Honnold’s body reflected the demands of climbing; James Hinchcliffe’s story carried the background of a serious racing crash; and Scout Bassett’s athletic identity was inseparable from her experience as a Paralympic competitor.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to find the 2019 photographs
At the time of release, ESPN directed readers to ESPN.com/BODYISSUE for the official gallery, athlete stories and videos. ESPN’s current Body Issue destination is presented more broadly as an archive-style ESPN Body page with the tagline “Every Body Has A Story.” It is not necessarily organized as a dedicated 2019 index.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchFor reliable background, the best starting points are ESPN’s original roster announcement and its September 2019 announcement of the final print issue. Those sources establish the dates, participant list and publication history without confusing the 2019 edition with later Body Issue galleries.
Common misconceptions about the 2019 edition
- It did not launch on one single date. The roster announcement, digital release and print release occurred on August 26, September 4 and September 6, respectively.
- The roster did not mean 21 separate solo features. Five of the listed athletes appeared as one Eagles offensive-line group.
- It was not a conventional swimsuit issue. ESPN described the franchise as a celebration of the athletic form, with interviews and reporting built around the photographs.
- The magazine did not continue normally in print. This was the final print edition of ESPN The Magazine.
- The images were not leaked material. They were commissioned portraits made for the project with the athletes’ participation.
FAQ
How many athletes were in the 2019 ESPN Body Issue?
ESPN’s official roster contained 21 athletes. Five Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen were presented together as a group feature, so the roster included 21 people but not 21 separate solo photo stories.
When was the 2019 ESPN Body Issue released?
ESPN announced the roster on August 26, 2019, released the digital photos and stories on September 4, and published the print issue on September 6.
Was the 2019 Body Issue the last ESPN magazine issue?
Yes. The September 6, 2019 Body Issue was the final print edition of ESPN The Magazine. ESPN continued its feature journalism digitally.
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Where can the official photos be viewed?
ESPN originally directed readers to ESPN.com/BODYISSUE. The current ESPN Body page functions more like a broader archive, so the availability and organization of the original 2019 gallery may differ from the launch version.
The Bottom Line
The 2019 ESPN Body Issue used nude and semi-nude artistic photography to document the physical realities of elite sport rather than simply display celebrity bodies. Its 21-person roster ranged from Paralympic athletes and gymnasts to golfers, fighters, football players and climbers, while its seven major written features supplied the personal and medical context behind the images. It also became the final print edition of ESPN The Magazine, giving the project an importance beyond the photographs themselves.
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