September 19, 2025
By Aylin Woodward aka Yeti or Not, Here I Come
It is with extreme sadness that Gotham Roller Derby shares news about the recent passing of renowned sports writer, former board member and staunch league supporter Thomas Gerbasi.
An icon of the combat sports industry, Thomas was deeply respected by athletes in boxing, UFC and MMA for his coverage and understanding of their worlds.
He found Gotham 15 years ago, after seeing Whip It on a plane coming home from covering a boxing match. One Gotham game and he was “hooked,” reaching out to the league in May 2010, and asking to be the league’s voice for what would be a decade of beautiful, compelling, and informative roller derby coverage.
“To be honest, I love stories, and correct me if I’m wrong, but there has to be some great stories in Gotham,” Thomas said in his introduction email. “I’d like to help get those stories out there.”
From then on, he was a near-constant presence in the stands, often with his wife cheering next to him, according to retired Gotham skater Evilicious, of the Brooklyn Bombshells. “Tom legitimized our sport in a way we simply could not from the inside,” she added.
He became one of the first professional sports writers to consistently cover roller derby beginning in the early 2010s, bringing a professionalism to the sport.
“He wrote about roller derby as an athletic sport at a time when roller derby articles were kitschy and hyper sexualized. With his background in combat sports writing he brought a unique perspective to roller derby, seeing our sport for how fierce and competitive it really is,” said former Gotham skater Bonnie Thunders, of the Bronx Gridlock.
Thomas loved writing the league’s Home Team bout previews and game recaps, dutifully interviewing skaters from all walks of the league to paint colorful scenes of what bouts were like.
“He was a sports writing craftsman, creating a narrative into every sport he covered. He celebrated the heroes, set the stage for the villains, and vividly captured the feelings of victory and defeat,” said retired Gotham skater Suzy Hotrod from the Queens of Pain.
He particularly loved covering roller derby and did so as a volunteer, Suzy added, highlighting skaters in profiles and underscoring how passionate we were about our lives and our sport while drawing painful awareness to the fact that we did it for free.
“In my day job, I cover mixed martial arts and boxing, and often, the question of heart comes up,” Thomas once said in a piece for Gotham’s website honoring Sexy Slaydie McKemie, a league skater who passed away last year. “In my eyes, everyone who steps into the ring or octagon has heart. I feel the same way about roller derby skaters.”
“Now mind you, unlike prizefighters, derby skaters are purely doing this for the love of the game. There is no paycheck at the end of the season,” he added.
Gotham skaters fondly remember Thomas as a kind and genuinely caring person.
“He continued to wish me a happy birthday for years after I left Gotham,” Bonnie said. “That was the kind of person he was—someone who built longstanding relationships with the athletes he wrote about.”
An athlete himself, Thomas loved running, having run the NYC marathon twice, and played soccer in a local league. He also fought in the Golden Gloves, a prestigious annual amateur boxing competition (and fondly remembered the hit that sent him to the hospital afterwards)!
“The dude never stopped,” said former Gotham photographer Sean Hale Yeah! “It’s a devastating loss for boxing and derby and the written word.”
Just 10 days ago, Thomas announced the publication of his book, “Boxing: The 100 Greatest Fighters.”
Ultimately, he brought the same passion, intensity and admiration to watching Gotham play roller derby up at the City College gymnasium on 138th Street that he brought to sitting ringside at Madison Square Garden next to world champions like Irish boxer Callum Walsh.
A 2011 inductee into Gotham’s highest volunteer echelon—the Order of the Brass Knuckles—Thomas cared about skaters as athletes, not as caricatures with funny names.
He loved to bring his family to games, Suzy said, and between interviews, would always celebrate his daughter.
“His love for his family, playing and watching sports, and foodie adventures were delightful to get glimpses of,” said Lady Fingers, a retired Gotham skater from the Brooklyn Bombshells. “I appreciated how open he was, posting on social media and letting us into his life.”
Thomas directly covered or brought awareness to Gotham everywhere from national outlets like The New Yorker and the Daily Beast to local publications like the Village Voice and the Staten Island Advance.
“He made us all feel really special and strangely legitimized this weird little sport we loved,” Fingers said.
Our hearts go out to his family, including his mother, wife, daughter and two grandchildren. Thomas will be deeply missed by the Gotham and wider roller derby community.
Photo by Manish Gosalia
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