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Just Women's Sports
OwnerJust Women's Sports Inc.
Founder(s)Haley Rosen
CEOHaley Rosen
URLjustwomenssports.com
Launched2020; 4 years ago (2020)
Haley Rosen interviewed by Adweek in 2022

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.

History

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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 and Ali Riley recording for JWS at the 2022 NWSL Championship

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]

A 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.

Content

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Just Women's Sports produces multiple podcasts and web series, along with its daily social and web coverage.

Kelley on the Street (2022–)
YouTube series hosted by Kelley O'Hara. Woman-on-the-street interviews about women's soccer.
Just Women's Sports (2020–2022)
Podcast hosted by Kelley O'Hara. Features interviews with athletes of many sports.
Tea with A & Phee (2020–2021)
Podcast hosted by basketball players A'ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier. Features interviews with basketball players.[17]
Snacks (2021–2023)
Podcast hosted by soccer players Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams. Features interviews with USWNT, NWSL and international soccer players.[18]
The Soccer Show (2021)
YouTube series hosted by soccer player Haley Kopmeyer and soccer coach David Copeland-Smith. Features interviews with soccer players.
Off the Ball (2021–2022)
YouTube series hosted by soccer player Ali Riley, providing behind-the-scenes look at the NWSL.[19]
The Players' Pod (2022)
Podcast hosted by soccer player Kelley O'Hara. Features interviews with athletes of many sports.
NetLife (2022)
Podcast hosted by basketball coach Dawn Staley. Features interviews with basketball players, coaches, and others.[20]
The 91st (2023)
Podcast hosted by soccer player Midge Purce and journalist Katie Nolan. Focuses on the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Taylor, Stephanie (July 14, 2020). "USWNT's Kelley O'Hara Joins Just Women's Sports to Tell Athletes' Stories". Darling. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Moran, Eddie (July 16, 2020). "Kelley O'Hara and Just Women's Sports Launch Female Athlete Podcast". Front Office Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Haley Rosen – Women's Soccer". Stanford University. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
    "Haley Rosen". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Linehan, Meg (June 19, 2020). "Kelley O'Hara aims to generate 'open, candid conversations' in new podcast". The Athletic. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Adidas and iFundWomen Partner To Support Women Entrepreneurs in Sports". Adidas. May 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Cash, Meredith (July 21, 2020). "We spoke to USWNT star Kelley O'Hara about interviewing iconic female athletes for her new podcast with Just Women's Sports". Insider. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Hays, Graham (July 18, 2020). "USWNT and NWSL star Kelley O'Hara talks hosting new 'Just Women's Sports Podcast'". ESPN. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Taylor, Marjani (October 27, 2020). "Just Women's Sports podcast gives voice to female athletes for another season". playingfor90.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Just Women's Soccer". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  10. ^ "Just Women's Sports raises $3.5 Million In Seed Funding". Just Women's Sports. May 10, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
    "Just Women's Sports raises $6 million in new funding". Just Women's Sports. June 9, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Byers, Justin (June 9, 2022). "Star-Studded List of Investors Back Just Women's Sports". Front Office Sports. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
    Bucholtz, Andrew (June 16, 2022). "Just Women's Sports announces media partnership with NWSL, including highlights and championship activations". Awful Announcing. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Tan, Gillian (June 9, 2022). "Billionaire Joe Tsai, Billie Jean King Back Just Women's Sports". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Collins, Savanna (June 21, 2022). "Haley Rosen: The Problem with Women's Sports". auprosports.com. Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Haley Rosen (28): Founder, Just Women's Sports". Forbes. November 30, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  15. ^ The problem with women's sports | Haley Rosen | TEDxBoston, retrieved October 5, 2023
  16. ^ @haleyrosen (August 21, 2023). "In 2019, JWS was still a pipe dream. In 2023, we just racked up a quarter-billion social impressions, 2+ million website reads, and half a million hours of YouTube watched during the WC. Couldn't be more proud of this team & couldn't be more excited for the future" (Tweet). Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Negley, Cassandra (May 21, 2021). "WNBA tea: A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier's candid hit podcast returns for in-season look at WNBA life". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  18. ^ Yang, Steph (May 29, 2023). "Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams drop 'Snacks 2.0': Same friendship, more insight, no hugs". The Athletic. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  19. ^ Linehan, Meg (April 6, 2021). "Orlando Pride's Ali Riley pulls back the curtain on NWSL life in new video series". The Athletic. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  20. ^ Cash, Meredith (January 29, 2022). "Dawn Staley has an ambitious list of dream guests — including world leaders and TV legends — for her new podcast". Insider. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  21. ^ Cahillane, Mollie (July 17, 2023). "Exclusive: Just Women's Sports and Adobe Team Up for In-Studio World Cup Show". Adweek. Retrieved July 19, 2023.

Further reading

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