For a long time, the only people you saw in sports ownership roles were white males. That has started to change in recent years with people of all races and genders entering into an ownership role within multiple different sports. 

Up until recently, the only time there was a woman in an ownership position was when her husband or family member died and left the team to her.

But, that has started to change, with women becoming part-owners or owners on their own. 

I aspire to be a sports broadcaster and journalist in the future and have loved sports my whole life, so this shows me that I could possibly not only have a job in professional sports one day, but could also possibly get into an ownership role. 

On Feb. 26, it was announced that Renee Montgomery, a retired WNBA player, was part of an ownership group that bought the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. 

While the team’s former co-owners were also women, this is different, because it shows that both former and current athletes can also have the opportunity to own a professional sports team. 

Montgomery brings diversity and a sense of understanding to the ownership position. Because she is a former player, Montgomery understands what the players are going through both on and off the court, which adds something few other owners can bring to the game.

Montgomery gives young girls and women somebody to look up to. She shows that women can be professional athletes and also have the opportunity to own a team themselves one day. 

Working in sports has always been something I wanted to do, but I never thought that it would be possible to have an ownership role with a team. 

When I see Sarah Spain, who works for ESPN, also become part of an ownership group with the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League, it makes me feel like I can one day too have the opportunity to own a professional sports team. 

The NWSL has been a big place for women to be in ownership positions and have a stake in teams. 

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, two stars in women’s tennis, have recently purchased stakes in NWSL teams. Former soccer players Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach also have stakes in teams. Even actresses and politicians, like Jennifer Garner and Chelsea Clinton, are getting in on NWSL ownership, according to an article by the Washington Post. 

Having women in ownership positions from multiple different career paths shows that any young girls or women can possibly reach that position as well, regardless of where they work or what their job is. 

On Oct. 11, 2020, Jeanie Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, became the first female controlling owner of an NBA championship team, when the Lakers won the NBA title, proving that women belong in ownership roles. 

Buss went through a legal battle with her siblings over control of the team and guided the franchise through one of the toughest NBA seasons yet. 

Buss guided the Lakers first through the death of franchise legend Kobe Bryant, and soon after the shutdown and return of the NBA season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Seeing women from all different backgrounds become owners of professional sports teams is important to give young girls and women the power to believe that they could possibly be an owner themselves in the future. It also motivates me to continue to work hard towards my goals, because now I know that it could possibly be me in an ownership role one day.