“One day we won’t even talk about it, we’ll just be running everything.”
Based on the speed of progress in the women’s sports industry, it’s no wonder that quote from Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall became the rally cry at Thursday’s espnW summit in New York City.
For those of us who’ve been enlightened by the panels and presentations featuring athletes and business leaders at the forefront of the women-in-sports industry, it’s hard to believe the first summit was held back in 2010.
Laura Gentile, ESPN/Disney executive vice president and the founder/leader and creator of the espnW brand, told a live and streaming audience that espnW has hosted 20 summits at various locations.
“The last 13 years have been about fresh thinking, challenging the status quo and changing the sports world for the better,” Gentile said, adding that proponents of women’s sports have created “a world in which female athletes and their stories are front and center. A world in which women are respected as fans … and vital to the future of our industry.”
That success has led to a dramatic shift in the discussions.
Rachel Epstein, vice president of espnW marketing and female audience expansion, described a new era in women’s sports.
“We spent most of our time talking about what we don’t have and what we need to build,” she said about the earlier summits. “Now we are just starting to talk about this amazing momentum we have, the future and how we can keep it all going.”
Videos from the seminars are available online at espnW.com.
Monica McNutt’s interview with the Ivey family is just one of many inspirational talks worth watching. Niele Ivey, Notre Dame’s women’s basketball head coach, and her son Jaden Ivey, who just finished his rookie year with the Detroit Pistons,…
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