Robert Klemko writes for ESPN’s Investigative and Enterprise Journalism Unit. Klemko joined ESPN in March of 2026 after six years at The Washington Post, during which he covered criminal justice and police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, immigration policy and enforcement during the second Trump administration, several high-profile mass shootings, police killings, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Klemko authored ‘The Policing Paradox’, one of 15 stories in a Post series honored with the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting “for its sobering examination of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which forced readers to reckon with the horrors wrought by the weapon often used for mass shootings in America.” His contribution examined American law enforcement’s embrace of the weapon. In 2021, Klemko reported on challenges facing grocery and meatpacking workers during the height of the covid-19 pandemic, and he and six Post reporters won the Gerald Loeb Award for Beat Reporting for “Essential Workers on the Front Lines”.

Klemko joined The Washington Post in 2019 after six years as a senior staff writer at Sports Illustrated, where he covered the NFL for Peter King’s The MMQB vertical, writing enterprise and investigative features. Earlier in his career, he reported for USA Today, covering the NFL and major events including the 2012 London Olympics.

From 2024-26 Klemko was also an adjunct instructor at American University’s School of Communication. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He lives in Maryland.

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