“One of the things that we will continue to do is take on the issues and the stories that other sites traditionally shy away from, even if they make people a little uncomfortable,” Mr. Rich said in an interview.

Jim Spanfeller, G/O Media’s chief executive, praised Mr. Rich in a statement, saying his “extensive experience as a reporter and editor will enable him to rebuild and lead Deadspin into the future.”

That ability is also likely to depend on Mr. Spanfeller, who has been running G/O Media since April, when the Boston private equity firm Great Hill Partners bought Deadspin along with several other sites that Gawker Media once owned — including Jezebel, Gizmodo and Lifehacker.

Mr. Spanfeller’s firing in October of Deadspin’s interim editor in chief, Barry Petchesky, who had refused to obey an editorial directive to stick to sports, prompted more than a dozen staff members to head for the doors. Deadspin has not published anything since Nov. 4.

This month, 97 percent of the G/O Media editorial staff members who are represented by the GMG Union supported a vote of no confidence in Mr. Spanfeller, the union said. In a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday, the union said it objected to the decision to move the editor in chief position away from New York without negotiating.