How the sports media world is undergoing a seismic shift

No one supports female athletes quite like the legendary Serena Williams’ techie husband, Alexis Ohanian. Hard to believe it? Take a look at his intense dedication to empowering women in sports through all-female sporting events and generous donations. As female athletes took center stage in 2024 with brilliant performances, the Reddit co-founder added to the momentum with a comment that brought incredible excitement, hinting that this is only the beginning of a new era for women in sports.
Sports Illustrated just crowned Simone Biles as their Sportsperson of the Year. Biles had an incredible 2024 with four medals in Paris, which increased her collection to 11 Olympic medals – a feat considering that she was the oldest woman to compete for Team USA in more than 70 years. Besides Simone Biles, another major contender for the title was Caitlin Clark who drove the WNBA to its biggest year with 48% attendance and 170% viewership on ESPN; Clark, A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and others contributed to this glory. Between the two of them, the split for the Athlete of the Year awards was even; although Clark couldn’t get Sports Illustrated’s nod, she was declared Times’ Athlete of the Year in December. Front Office Sports’ X profile paid tribute to both Biles and Clark with a bold declaration: “The rise of women’s sports defined 2024. Between Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles, the obvious choice for any “Athlete of the Year” award was undoubtedly female. The year in sports was about women.”
This shout-out to Biles and Clark grabbed Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian’s attention. Being a massive advocate of gender parity in sports, Ohanian couldn’t help but express his heartfelt happiness on the news. “And it’s just getting started,” he wrote highlighting his pride in finally seeing female athletes receiving the recognition they deserve. The Reddit co-founder has been an ardent supporter of women in sports, owning an all-female NSWL soccer club called Angel City FC alongside his wife and two children.
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Ohanian also conducted an all-female track and field event called Athlos NYC with the winner taking home a whopping $60000, whereas the first and second runners-up received $25000 and $10,000. In fact, his initiative offered the highest prize money to the winner, taking its first step towards its advocacy of economic equality for female sprinters. Ohanian’s hard work and dedication to elevate female athletes’ positions and bring them more economic opportunities has been a driving force in the work he does. And Serena Williams‘ talented husband delved into this and astonished the fraternity with some his frank comments.
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Ohanian dropped a motivating message about his dedication to female athletes
Before Athlos NYC, Alexis Ohanian spoke about how dedicatedly he wished to uplift women athletes’ position financially and socially. “I’m not retired because I will spend the rest of my life trying to keep building better, keep working with greatness, and keep doing things that might make folks uncomfortable, Onward. This is just Phase I,” wrote the Reddit co-founder. His efforts received great cheer from Paris Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell, who thanked Ohanian for providing them with state-of-the-art facilities at Athlos NYC. In his response, Ohanian won everyone’s hearts. “Y’all deserve nothing less. The goal of @athlos from day zero has been to set a new standard. We’re just getting started. And the world is already watching — taking notes — keep going,” wrote Ohanian.
This tech guy also revealed to Adweek that he invested in women’s sports because of the internet’s attention solely on women. “The internet is the free market of attention. Follower counts don’t care about your feelings. Every day you have to wake up and fight for attention, and where is it online? It’s on the women,” throughout his statement, he highlighted the popularity of female athletes and all-female sports which demands support for its growth.
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Alexis Ohanian’s advocacy to take women’s sports to a position of financial and social equality is evident. Not only did he actively work on this project but he also vocally explained to others why this is a lucrative investment opportunity. Ohanian’s hard work and commitment in this field make him an inspiration to the new generation highlighting his generosity and humbleness towards female athletes.