| Owner | Just Women's Sports Inc. |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Haley Rosen |
| CEO | Haley Rosen |
| URL | justwomenssports |
| Launched | 2020 |
Just Women's Sports (JWS) is an American news website and media company focused on women's sports. It was founded in 2020 by former soccer player Haley Rosen. The company creates content across social, web, and audio platforms, and has produced podcasts by athletes such as Kelley O'Hara, Sam Mewis, Lynn Williams, A'ja Wilson, and Napheesa Collier.
Just Women's Sports was founded in January 2020 by Haley Rosen (born June 1, 1993), a former soccer player from Los Angeles, California, who played for the Stanford Cardinal in college and briefly played professionally. [1] [2] [3] She aimed to address the disproportionate lack of media coverage of women in sports (said to be about four percent of all sports coverage). [1] [2] [4] The company began by producing content on its website, newsletter, and social media. [1] [2] In May 2020, Adidas supported the company with a grant for female entrepreneurs in sports. [4] [5]
Kelley O'Hara, a former Cardinal player and a two-time World Cup–winning member of the United States national soccer team (USWNT), was approached to advise the company before taking an interest in the idea of hosting a podcast. [1] [6] This became the Just Women's Sports podcast (later The Players' Pod), in which O'Hara interviews leading female athletes about the arc of their lives from childhood through their career. [2] [7] [8] The podcast's first episode came out on July 21, 2020, featuring O'Hara's friend and USWNT teammate Alex Morgan. [2] [9]
An group of venture capitalists including Kevin Durant—plus athletes such as O'Hara, Elena Delle Donne, Hilary Knight, Sam Mewis and Arike Ogunbowale—provided seed funding of US$3.5 million in May 2021, before a further investment group led by Joe Tsai added US$6 million the next year. [10] [11] [12]
Rosen was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in November 2021. [13] [14] In 2022, Rosen delivered a TEDx talk called "The problem with women's sports," which argued that internal stakeholders had hindered the growth of women's sports by mis-marketing athletes and teams. [15]
In 2023, Rosen said the company had reached over 75 million users and generated over 250 million social impressions [16] during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Just Women's Sports produces multiple podcasts and web series, along with its daily social and web coverage.
Tobin Powell Heath is an American professional soccer player, entrepreneur, and artist. Playing primarily as a forward and midfielder for the United States national team, she won gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, 2012 London Summer Olympics, 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as silver at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She was described as "perhaps the USA's most skillful player" by the United States Soccer Federation, and was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2016 and U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year in 2009.
Kelley Maureen O'Hara is an American professional soccer player who plays as a wingback for National Women's Soccer League club Gotham FC and the United States women's national soccer team. A two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist, she previously played professionally for FC Gold Pride, the Boston Breakers, Sky Blue FC, Utah Royals FC and the Washington Spirit. While currently playing as a defender, she began her collegiate career playing as a forward and occasionally played an attacking role during her professional career.
Kristen Anne Mewis is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for West Ham United of the Women's Super League (WSL) and the United States national team.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) federation players were players whose salaries for playing in the NWSL were paid for by their respective national federations from 2013 to 2021. American federation players were contracted to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and not to their respective NWSL clubs, whereas Canadian federation players were contracted directly to their respective NWSL clubs. Federation players were sometimes known as allocated players, allocation players, or subsidized players, which occasionally created confusion with players paid using NWSL allocation money, a mechanism introduced before the 2020 NWSL season.
Sofia Christine Huerta is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for Seattle Reign in the National Women's Soccer League and the U.S. women's national soccer team. Huerta played collegiately for the Santa Clara Broncos from 2011 to 2014, before beginning her professional career with the Chicago Red Stars. She was traded to Houston Dash in 2018 and to OL Reign in 2020.
Samantha June Mewis is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Mewis grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts, and played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins. Her club career began when she signed with the Pali Blues of the W-League in 2013. She played seven seasons for the Western New York Flash / North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), winning NWSL Championships in 2016, 2018, and 2019. She also played for FA Women's Super League club Manchester City and the NWSL's Kansas City Current. Mewis made 86 appearances for the United States national team, with which she won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She retired from professional soccer in 2024.
Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
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Emily Ann Sonnett is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back or defensive midfielder for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the United States national team.
Napheesa Collier is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League, Euroleague Women. After playing college basketball for the University of Connecticut Huskies, Collier was drafted by the Lynx with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. She participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics games in Tokyo as part of the United States Women's Basketball team that won the Gold Medal.
Margaret Melinda "Midge" Williams-Purce is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breakers. A 2023 NWSL Champion and Championship MVP, she is known for her strength on the ball and her willingness to defend from the attack.
Starting in 2016, players for the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) have engaged in a series of legal actions against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). These legal actions detail the unequal treatment and compensation of the USWNT, as compared to the U.S. men's national soccer team (USMNT). The process of achieving equal pay and treatment started with a federal complaint submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016, with notable moments throughout 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2022. The fight for equal treatment and compensation has received widespread media attention, inspired legislative action in the U.S. Senate, and received fan support. The 2021 documentary film, LFG also details the story of the U.S. women's national soccer team and their fight for equal pay. A landmark equal pay agreement was reached in February 2022.
Stephen Malik is a Welsh-American businessman and sports owner who owns and is chairman of North Carolina FC of United Soccer League and North Carolina Courage of National Women's Soccer League. He also founded and was executive chairman of medical technology company Medfusion, and was a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors from March 2017 to March 2019 and February 2020 to February 2021.
Haley Jean McCutcheon is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has previously played for Houston Dash of the NWSL and for Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. She made her senior international debut for the United States in 2018.
Imani Michelle Dorsey is an American professional soccer player who currently plays as a defender for the Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Hailie Jenae Mace is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League. She debuted for the United States women's national soccer team in 2018.
The 2020 Portland Thorns FC season was the team's and the league's eighth season of existence. The Thorns played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 12, 2020 the Thorns canceled their preseason tournament, scheduled for March 29-April 4. On March 20, 2020, the NWSL postponed the start of the league's regular season indefinitely.
Trinity Rain Moyer-Rodman is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. At age 18, she became the youngest drafted player in NWSL history after being selected second in the 2021 NWSL College Draft. Rodman earned NWSL Rookie of the Year, NWSL Best XI, and U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honors following her first season in 2021. As of February 2022, she is the highest-paid player in the league.
Naomi Haile Girma is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
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