Five months since her last NWSL game – a torn Achilles tendon deprived her of the “perfect ending” to the Seattle Championship, an exit no one expected – Megan Rapinoe is finally able to stretch her legs again in league play. It’s starting. The world of women’s sports.
“I was going to have a little more space for retirement, but my Achilles tear opened up even more space. It was really easy to say no for a while, so I took advantage of that and took it really easy. I spent the end of the year,” Rapinoe said in New York earlier this week.
On Tuesday, I moderated a fireside conversation with Megan Rapinoe at TN50, a summit on the business of women’s sports hosted by Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment and Axios in New York City. We talked a little about her recovery. Although she stopped needing a walking boot a few months ago, she is still in the rehabilitation process and she attends physical therapy. She talked about her future plans as well. Rapinoe joked that her stakes aren’t quite the same as they were when she was a pro.
“Now I’m just a real fan girl. I love women’s sports so much,” she continued. She made it to the Final Four, guest-starred on her fiancé Sue Bird’s TV show with Diana Taurasi, and made it to the Reign’s home opener.
“I cried a few times not being able to go (on the field),” she said. I hope to show up in my prime on Sunday. I’d be happy if that were the case, but it’s not. ”
Meg Linehan, senior writer for The Athletic, interviews Megan Rapinoe. (Photo courtesy of Elsa, Getty Images)
Instead, Rapinoe turned her post-retirement attention to embracing a new life as a fan and as the production company she runs with Bird, A Touch More. “I’m really excited to put everything I’ve learned in my career and the life skills and talents I’ve developed off the field to use. I feel this bodes very well for the next stage. ”
The purpose of the panel discussion in New York was to focus on her perspective on the business of women’s sports, and since she had just participated in the NCAA Championship between Iowa and South Carolina, there was an explosion of interest. We started with her opinion on the Caitlin Clark effect. in women’s basketball. Beyond Clark’s long-range shot, and what Rapinoe called “the antidote to always talking about dunks,” there was a bigger picture.
“18 million people watched the finals. It’s more than just capturing a moment, it’s more than just a flash,” she said. “That’s something different than what I’ve been told for so long that it’s not funny. That’s clearly not the case.
“Funds and venture capital money are coming in, NWSL club valuations are growing, we’re seeing expansion across all leagues, and the PWHL has recorded its largest ever attendance, not just from the general public. The business side is all coming together.” You need to get in now. This isn’t just investing for a mission or because it’s the right thing to do. You can actually make a lot of money. And you should do it now, not tomorrow or the next day. ”
But for Rapinoe, it didn’t start with the Caitlin Clark effect. She pointed to the larger foundations of how women’s sports captured the moment of the 2019 Women’s World Cup victory, the 2020 WNBA season in the bubble, and this year’s NCAA finals.
“I thought a lot about the national team because it is a very solid foundation, a foundation that spans generations and decades, and that our team can build on. And I was able to stand on top of it and capture the moment,” she said. “Or when Sue was in college, the finals had 30,000 people watching and 5 million viewers. There it was! The WNBA has been around for 28 years, and we’ve all It is not trusted as a traditional women’s sports league, which is the foundation of the league.
Rapinoe spoke multiple times about a 2021 article by Kate Fagan about the WNBA that cited the league’s resiliency despite stories about the quality of play. Fagan’s kicker is a visionary. “Taurasi should have been Jordan, but like the league itself, she may have been ahead of her time. Maybe Jordan is about to walk through the door. And that player. When it does arrive, all the metrics and models that allow women’s basketball players to get so much playing time, so much pay, so much marketing money, so much investment will be shattered.”
Rapinoe reiterated Tuesday that the history of what has been built across women’s sports cannot be overlooked while celebrating growth. Clark stands on the shoulders of Bird, Taurasi, Maya Moore (Rapineau joked that she didn’t just draft college players for Bird’s benefit), Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes. .
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“So, I look at Caitlin and what she did, but it’s so much more than that. There’s a big story behind Dawn Staley and South Carolina, this incredible undefeated season, and it’s so much more than that. The reason it was talked about is because Caitlin was completely crazy, knowing the foundation that they’re all standing on, especially in the last five or six years since the bubble, the W team. The work that has been done is very much a Black woman. It’s a very inclusive and open space for gay women.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley holds up the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship trophy. (Photo by Sean Rayford, Getty Images)
That doesn’t mean a celebration, or even a victory lap or two, isn’t welcome.
“It was unbelievable to be in the Final Four because everyone was like, ‘We’re winning!'” Rapinoe said to applause from the Chelsea Factory crowd. “Everyone felt that’s what this game deserved and what fans of women’s sports really deserved.”
While wins are piling up and money is flowing in, Rapinoe said there’s still plenty of opportunity to solidify this momentum and translate it into more than just sustainability, a long-held tenet of all women’s sports leagues. .
When asked how to balance the potential of women’s sports with the current situation, Rapinoe said: If all the necessary mechanisms are not in place, the league will not exist. ” She said she saw it firsthand when her 2015 World Cup victory was not utilized properly.
In terms of infrastructure, she said strong collective bargaining agreements (and players are investing time and energy to make them as strong as possible), media rights deals, fan experiences, and sports betting go beyond just financial gain. He pointed out that they are exploring what possibilities they can bring to women’s sports. . (“I always compare sports betting to marijuana,” Rapinoe joked. “Sports betting just came out of nowhere one day. Everyone knew how to do it. I know the stocks!”)
Sports betting led her to another favorite topic. It’s about educating fans about women’s sports and finding ways to drive interest beyond narrow storylines about star players and the best teams.
“The media is very important,” she said. “It’s all part of the growth of the sport. There are nuanced narratives, debates and critiques, letting people know the story and all of it. At the end of the day, sports are an entertainment property. That’s what it’s here for. Of course there are times around other places like courts and fields, but other than that it’s just for entertainment. How can you get to know these players? How do we interact with these players, whether it’s on social media or on ESPN or other networks? It’s really important to fill that in.”
Rapinoe said some fans are there for the sports and statistics, but others are looking for entertainment and want to be part of a larger movement. It’s not like she has an extra $500 million lying around, but if she did, she’d have a pretty clear plan for it: ownership, media, content, maybe sports betting, etc. , to invest heavily in women’s sports. I’m not really used to the space yet.
Rapinoe and the USWNT are honored at City Hall after winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup. (Sean Rayford, Getty Images)
“I also want to be active in the community mission aspect,” she said. “Sports always and forever have the power to change the world and make it a better place. That’s why women’s sports are on steroids. That’s a really important part, and a huge disparity from men’s sports. We need to really focus on that and start leveraging it as a core principle and pillar of our business.”
With so much money flowing into the sector, preserving the concept could prove crucial to preserving the soul of women’s sport. That’s what made sports so special in an era when there was less attention, less money, and perhaps fewer barriers to creating real connections between people. Local community/community.
“Athletes have always been the core of our business and nothing happens without them,” Rapinoe said. “Certainly they need support in a different way. In the case of female athletes, there is always an incredible level of care for what they are doing, for their communities, for their fellow teammates. It has. It’s a really, truly inclusive place,” she said. “Women’s sports have always been a place where we showcase each other.”
And for Rapinoe, that wasn’t the only thing that made them special.
“Transgender rights, racial rights, equal pay, gender identity, whatever it is, everything in life happens in women’s sports all the time. It’s not just given to the players, it’s given to the public. It also gives us the opportunity to make a difference, join the conversation, and ultimately be part of making the world a better place.”
(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
