Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, recently shared his reasons for not investing in a WNBA team, despite his wife’s keen interest. Ohanian stated that his focus is on supporting women’s basketball at a foundational level, which he believes is a more impactful approach to fostering the sport’s growth.
As a dedicated advocate for women’s sports, Ohanian co-owns the NWSL team Angel City FC with Serena Williams and their daughters and has launched initiatives like the female-only track and field event, Athlos. However, despite Serena’s enthusiasm, he has chosen to prioritize other avenues of investment in women’s sports.
In a conversation with college basketball player Flau’jae Johnson, Ohanian explained his desire to make women’s college basketball more viable. The 41-year-old revealed that he once expressed public interest in buying the rights to women’s college basketball from the NCAA due to dissatisfaction with how it was managed.
“I had a conversation with Adam Silver (NBA Commissioner) years ago. College basketball was clearly the battleground for women. I even tweeted, asking the NCAA to sell me the rights to women’s college basketball because I was more interested in figuring out how to make that viable,” Ohanian said.
Addressing Underinvestment in Women’s Sports
Ohanian criticized the NCAA for years of underinvestment in women’s sports. He cited examples like the weight room controversy during March Madness, where female athletes lacked proper training facilities and branding opportunities compared to their male counterparts.
“Ironically, the NCAA had been so under-investing in college women. Remember the weight room fiasco? They couldn’t even call it March Madness because they thought it was too precious and belonged to men,” he added.
Advocating for Women’s Sports
Ohanian also addressed critics who claimed there was little interest in women’s sports. He pointed out that leagues like the WNBA and college basketball are proving their value through growing revenue and attention.
“In this country, capitalism trumps everything. All the people who said no one cared about women’s sports can’t make that argument anymore because the dollars don’t lie,” Ohanian said.
To further support women’s basketball, Ohanian made the largest-ever donation to the University of Virginia’s women’s basketball team and signed a multi-year commitment to support the program.
“Women’s college basketball is up next. My first big investment in this space is a multi-year commitment to @uvawomenshoops,” he shared on Instagram.
Serena Williams Expresses Interest in the WNBA
While Ohanian focuses on college basketball, Serena Williams has expressed her enthusiasm for owning a WNBA team. In an interview with CNN, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said she would be “super interested” in investing in the right market.
“With the right market, I would definitely be super interested in that (owning a WNBA team),” Serena said.
She described investing in women’s sports as a low-risk opportunity, emphasizing their growing popularity.
“Women’s sport is exciting and an overly safe bet when it comes to investing. More people are realizing how exciting women’s basketball is to watch,” she added.
Serena and Alexis have also admired and supported rising basketball stars, such as Caitlin Clark, offering advice on handling challenges and negativity.
While their interests differ, both Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian continue to champion and invest in the growth of women’s sports across different platforms.
