Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian shuts down "skeptic" troll with firm message after being ridiculed for his $ Billion women's sports claim
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian silenced a troll with a stinging message. Ohanian's response came after the troll ridiculed him for a bold claim that the Reddit co-founder had previously voiced about women's sports.
On Friday, December 20, Ohanian took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a brief video of him speaking at Sportico's Invest in Sports conference, which was held in early November this year at New York City's Nasdaq Marketplace. In the video, he is seen and heard agreeing to a suggestion that by 2030, there will be a billion-dollar women's sports franchise. The Reddit co-founder captioned the post:
"As I said at the @Sportico Business of Women's Sports Panel, there will be a $B women's sports franchise by 2030. Mark my words!"
A fellow X user was not at all optimistic about Ohanian's claim and issued a sarcastic reply to Serena Williams' husband's post.
"Not a chance unless inflation is through the roof," the user suggested.
Ohanian, not one to take such things lying down, responded to the user with a firm message, writing:
"I paid $1M for the ACFC (Angel City FC) expansion fee in 2020. Today the team is worth $300M post money. Save your skeptical tweet!"
Ohanian is the major shareholder in Angel City FC. He co-founded the team alongside wife Williams, actress Natalie Portman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman and venture capitalist Tara Nortman, and several other high-profile name. It began playing in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022 and currently features the likes of FIFA Women's World Cup winners Sydney Leroux and Christen Press.
In 2022, Ohanian had laid bare how his 23-time Grand Slam champion wife Serena Williams played a pivotal role in his decision to invest in Angel City FC.
Alexis Ohanian's revelation on Serena Williams' "dare" that eventually led to Angel City FC's formation
In a video shared by the NWSL in 2022, Ohanian said that a particular exchange between him and Williams kickstarted the process of what ultimately became Angel City FC. The exchange came during USA's victory in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final.
"As I was watching the 2019 Women's World Cup final and my daughter was running around in an Alex Morgan jersey. I was just musing like, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if she played for the women's national team one day?'," Ohanian recalled.
"And Serena without missing a single beat said, 'Not until they pay her what she's worth.' I was like, alright, challenge accepted, let's see if I can do some things to help," he added.
Ohanian and Williams married in 2017 and are parents to two daughters, Olympia (born in 2017) and Adira River (2023).