Women’s sports have seen a stark increase in popularity in the last few years. Due to his investments, Alexis Ohanian has been one of the reasons for the rise and has often talked about the women’s counterpart of any sport. Being a father to two daughters and husband to Serena Williams, many expected them to be the reason behind his investments. However, the Reddit co-founder recently came out and stated the real reason.
Ohanian has invested in many sports throughout his years as an investor. His decision to buy the biggest stake in Angel City FC came because of a reason in his past.
What inspired Alexis Ohanian to invest in the development of women’s sports?
Recently on ‘In These Cleats’, Alexis Ohanian talked about his journey of investing in several sports including the women’s counterpart. He said, “I don’t want anyone to think that I did this because I have a daughter, very proud girl dad. It’s not because of that.” He then talked about the years of battles Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams had to ensure that women’s tennis gets the same recognition as men’s tennis. He then mentioned the USWNT winning the 1999 FIFA World Cup sparked his interest.
“I think I think everyone has a role to play in this, and what really sparked it was long before Angel City. What sparked it was the 99ers winning in such epic fashion, and that planted something in the American psyche that connected American soccer greatness with women.” While Ohanian’s decision to invest in women’s soccer involved him witnessing a spectacle in 1999, his decision to invest in Angel City FC took place because of a women’s soccer star.
How and why did Alexis Ohanian invest in Angel City FC?
Ohanian went on a Twitter rage in 2019 about the success of women in sports, notably soccer and tennis. Ohanian also addressed the pay disparity in women’s sports and then said, “Now that I think about it, how do I become an owner of an NWSL team?“. The stars aligned for the co-founder of Reddit because Alex Morgan saw his rant and said that she could help him with that.
The two talked on personal chat, which eventually led Alexis Ohanian to heavily invest in women’s soccer. Now, he is the major owner of a club that is worth more than $100 million and is improving at a steady pace. Like Alexis Ohanian’s 1999 eureka moment for women’s soccer, have you had any similar sort of realization in your own life? Let us know in the comments below.
