"The attention is on the women" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian opens up about investing in women's sports based on internet trends
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recently opened up about investing in women's sports based on internet trends. The tech entrepreneur has consistently championed women's sports, trying to create opportunities for growth.
Ohanian's venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, also aims to drive positive change in the women's sports industry. In April, it invested in a women’s track event, the 776 Invitational, which is set to take place at the end of September.
Moreover, Ohanian, alongside his wife, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, co-owns the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team Angel City FC, which began competing in the 2022 season. Tennis legend Billie Jean King also serves as a co-owner of the club.
In a recent interview with Adweek, Ohanian explained his investment in women's sports by emphasizing that the internet’s attention-driven landscape focuses on women.
Ohanian said,
"The internet is the free market of attention. Follower counts don’t care about your feelings. Every day you have to wake up and fight for attention, and where is it online? It’s on the women.”
Ohanian earlier this year thanked Billie Jean King and his wife Serena Williams for bringing women's sports into the limelight.
Reddit's co-founder has also invested in The Sports Bra, a bar exclusively broadcasting women's sports.
Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian says most male athletes generally supportive of women athletes
Alexis Ohanian noted on X (formerly Twitter) that while male athletes generally support their female counterparts, it is often online critics who express anger and negativity through social media.
Ohanian wrote,
"Imagine a world where men didn't feel threatened by the success of women's sports. It's not zero-sum, folks. What's so interesting is that actual male athletes are generally hugely supportive of women athletes. It's the keyboard jocks who furiously type angry tweets,"
Ohanian, a staunch advocate of women's sports, was frequently seen rooting for his wife during her matches. The 41-year-old met Serena Williams in 2015, and the couple married two years later.
Like Ohanian, Williams is an advocate for women's sports. In 2022, she partnered with Nike's Athlete Think Tank, an initiative aimed at improving women's lives in sports and expanding opportunities for the next generation of female athletes. Moreover, Williams has previously shown her interest in owning a WNBA team.