The Wall Street Journal - 12.03.2020

R2| Thursday, March 12, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Katelyn Ohashi

NCAA gymnastics champion;

self-esteem and art activist

With the new NCAA rules [allowing athletes to use

their own name, image and likeness] that are coming

into play, we could be looking at a whole different

playing field for women. The first thing that comes

to mind is being able to go to college and earn a liv-

ing and still have the opportunity to compete in col-

lege. In women’s sports there are a good amount of

sports where the peak age is younger.

This may be hopeful, but I have a good feeling

that women athletes will have better media coverage

in the near future. That means more coverage and

visibility on TV, in print, online, on social media, etc.

That also means media organizations need to invest

resources to more adequately and proportionally

cover a wider variety of sports and athletes.

Another thing I am hopeful for is not having to

emphasize the ‘W’ in our sports. We should be the

best, not the best women. We shouldn’t get ostra-

cized for being athletes—instead [we should be] en-

couraged, like men, to be in sports.

THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING |SPORTS

WHAT’SNEXTFORWOMEN’SSPORTS

B

y several measures,

women in sports are

onahigh.

The Women’s Na-

tional Basketball As-

sociation and its athletes re-

cently signed a collective-

bargaining agreement that

tripled compensation for top

players and boosted average

salaries above six figures for

the first time. Last year’s

Women’s World Cup drew 1.1

billion global viewers. As the

world turns to the Tokyo

2020 Olympics in July, the

biggest star heading into the

Games arguably isn’t a male

sprinter or swimmer but

world-champion American

gymnast Simone Biles.

Yet women at all levels of

sports still have much ground

to gain in pay and opportuni-

ties. Women’s professional

soccer and hockey leagues in

the U.S. still have relatively

low salaries and small follow-

ings compared with their

male counterparts’, and

women’s teams struggle to

gain footholds on a sports-

broadcast calendar where

men’s leagues have had a de-

cadeslong head start.

The Wall Street Journal

asked leading executives,

athletes and coaches how

they think women’s sports

will change in the next five

to 20 years—and what they

hope to see.

—Rachel Bachman

Interviews have been

condensed and edited.

Muffet McGraw

Women’s basketball coach, Notre Dame

It will be commonplace to see a woman on the staff of an NBA team

and possibly on the staff of a men’s collegiate team. We need to see

more women in athletics director roles, especially in [the nation’s big-

gest] five conferences.

But, for me, it is more important to see more women coaching

women. What better way to hire more women than to have the person

doing the hiring be a woman? Currently it is 60% to 40%, with men

holding the most head coaching positions. At the very least, I would

hope those numbers are flipped in favor of women.

Nneka Ogwumike

President, Women’s National Basketball Players

Association, the WNBA’s players union

In the next five to 20 years, female athletes will

only continue to break more records and raise

the standard of excellence and high performance

in sports.

What should happen in women’s sports is

overhauling the business. It’s the human condition

to compare things to what we know or already

exists. But what we fail to do for women’s sports

is analyze the similarities and differences as it

pertains to men’s sports and invest time and re-

sources to implement business and marketing

structures that nurture a viable environment for

female athletes in their unique market.

The next couple of decades will show who and

what is truly invested, because those who aren’t

will be late to the party. In five to 20 years, sup-

porting women’s sports should no longer be a

“fad” or what’s “in,” but rather the norm.

Molly Solomon

Executive producer and president, NBC Olympics

production; executive producer, Golf Channel

In golf, we will see more co-sanctioned events

where women and men compete on the same

course at the same time for the same prize money.

In all sports, leagues and governing bodies will cre-

ate more mixed-gender events, like the new relay

events in swimming and track-and-field at this

summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Fans will get to see

more of theirfavorite athletes competing together

in pursuit of a common goal. The dynamic will be

fresh and fascinating.

We will see more women athletes continuing

their careers after having children. Their sponsors

are increasingly supportive, so why can’t chapter

two [after childbirth] be as successful as the first

[chapter of their careers]? It’s fantastic role model-

ing for young women and fans as they watch their

idols “multi-task” life, career and family.

There will be a female commissioner of a

professional male sports league. Strides already

are being made in the college space; why not in

this arena?

Sponsors of men’s professional sports leagues

and teams should pledge to associate themselves

with the women’s game in equal measure.

Lilly King

Professional swimmer; two-time Olympic gold medalist

I hope audiences get used to seeing the women act just like the men,

and not being reprimanded for it—just being competitive and being

tough when you’re interviewed, not necessarily saying the answer they

want you to say. [With] women, it’s always like, ‘This is great.’ If you talk

to a man after a race, that’s not what they say. They tell you the truth.

I was a rude awakening for the swimming world because I did not fit

into that cookie-cutter box. I would finish a race and say, “I had a terri-

ble race.” And people would say, “But you won by five seconds.” And I’d

say, “But I have higher expectations for myself.” People said I was cocky.

We’re headed in the right direction, and people are getting used to

me and people like me.

Patrick Nally

U.K.-based sports marketing expert; founder of

the commercial marketing program at FIFA, soc-

cer’s world governing body

You don’t market the women’s Olympics and the

men’s Olympics. So why would you market the

World Cups separately? FIFA organizes two excel-

lent World Cups, the men’s and the women’s.

They are of immense value to their corporate

sponsors. Market your two global events together.

If there’s the same number of teams [each of

the two next World Cups will have 32], why is

the Women’s World Cup of lesser value? I

would think that the audience of the women’s

in some ways is worth more because you are

getting to the [household members who make

purchasing decisions].

The women’s part of it is certainly growing

faster than the men’s because the men’s is peak-

ing. In the next eight to 12 years, there will be no

reason why there will be any significant gap of

anything—in viewership, stadium attendance, fan

fests, corporate support—between the two World

Cups. The Women’s World Cup has arrived. FROM TOP: GIZELLE HERNANDEZ FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; BRAD OGBONNA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; LUCY HEWETT FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL