By Máire Rock
Over the winter, Santa Clara University School of Law hosted its annual Sports Law Conference.
The third panel, entitled “The Rise of Women’s Sports,” was especially provocative. The panel included Leslie Osborne Lewis (founder and co-owner of Bay FC and former USWNT member), David Kelly, (Chief Legal officer at Golden State Warriors and Golden State Valkyries), Kate Porter (General Counsel for Bay FC), Brianna Salvatore Dueck (CEO of Uplift Sports and Entertainment) and their moderator Mariah Cooks, Esq. (Associate and Co-Chair Sports & Entertainment Practice at Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney). The overarching theme of the panel was perfectly said by Ms. Cooks at the start of the panel: “This is not just a moment, it’s a movement.” She added that the panel was made up of “trailblazers.”
A large topic that was discussed repeatedly during the panel was the new NWSL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and how it is reshaping the competitive landscape of the league. Kate Porter commented on how the new CBA “recognizes how players move through the market.” She explained how the free agency rights under the new CBA more closely mirror the rights that soccer players have had for years in Europe. She also explained how the new CBA abolished the draft and expansion draft for the NWSL—something that has impacted how she does her job. She stated that she had to learn a lot about how the new recruiting rules in the wake of the abolished draft and the new free agency transfer rules worked in practice, not just on paper.
Another topic that all the panelists jumped in on was how social media has transformed the landscape of brand building for women athletes. Brianna Salvatore Dueck pointed out that women athletes drive twice the engagement on social media when compared with men athletes, allowing them to connect with their audience. This connection—coupled with the fact that female sports now receive 15% of all sports media coverage compared to 4% from several years ago—allows these female athletes to build their brands outside of traditional media. By doing this Dueck says that it democratizes brand building for all athletes, gives women a voice, and allows them to connect directly with their fans. This allows the female athletes to not only bring in brand deals for themselves and champion the causes that they are passionate about, but it also puts more eyes and attention on women’s sports.
David Kelly gave a great overview of the behind-the-scenes formation of the Golden State Valkyries and the key factors in the Golden State Warriors acquiring a WNBA team. He explained that about five years ago a task force was put together of each department at the Warriors to draft a report on what it would mean for the Warriors to acquire a team and why a WNBA team would do well in the Bay Area. These discussions ultimately led the Warriors to negotiations with the league and eventually acquiring a team.
Leslie Osborne Lewis spoke to the fact that former female athletes are now stepping into the world of ownership (not just team ownership, but the general business world as well) instead of being limited to broadcaster roles or retirement from the sports world altogether. By empowering female athletes to have the confidence to build their own brands, they are taking that leap to jump into the business side of sports whether that is team ownership or being a GM. Lewis then spoke about her experience bringing Bay FC to the Bay Area. She highlighted their lack of a business background as frowned upon, but it was their experience actually playing the game that gave them the knowledge to build a team that they know will last.
Porter and Kelly also touched upon the considerations that come with creating female sports, specifically training facilities. Porter said they wanted to make sure that the facilities were not just like the men’s facilities “but pink.” So, they took into consideration different ideas, like childcare facilities, as well as under-18 faculties and facilities that focus on player care. They wanted to make a space that was cognizant of the realities of women’s sports. Kelly spoke to how the Valkyries wanted to ensure that their team had a dedicated facility that they could take advantage of in the off season and that they also had a dedicated corporate headquarters. This came to fruition with the Valkyries dedicated facility in Oakland, California, which allows the women to have a world-class facility that keeps the player’s not only in market and engaged in the WNBA in the off-season, but engaged in the community, too.
In sum, the “Rise of Women’s Sports” panel discussion incorporated strong voices and ideas that touched on a myriad of women’s sports topics. From the minute it started until it ended the crowd could not get enough of these panelists. Several attendees stayed long after the panel ended to talk with each of the panelists, an indication that the conversation around women’s sports is ongoing. This panel gave a fantastic overview of all the different ways that women’s sports is on the rise in the United States and the ways that the legal profession is helping to support that meteoric increase.
Máire Rock is a 2L at Santa Clara University School of Law and is pursuing the Sports Law Certificate. She graduated from Seattle University with a degree in History and Political Science and a minor in English Literature. She is interested in pursuing sports law as a career after graduation.
