There are still plenty of internet warriors who detract the continuous growth of women's sports — and Serena Williams' husband went off on them.
Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and former CEO, received backlash from users on X this week after tweeting about the growth of women's ratings of the US Open which saw the women's final receive 3.4 million viewers versus the 2.3 million for the men's final.
"The free market speaks (again). Invest in Women's Sports," said Ohanian, who is also the owner of the NWSL's Angel FC.
Facts > Feelings
— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) September 12, 2023
US viewership of @USOpen finals:
Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka: 3.422 million
Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev: 2.321 million
The free market speaks (again).
Invest in Women's Sports. @weareangelcity was just the start for me...
Related: ESPN's U.S. Open viewership reveals stunning look at the state of sports
But contrarians were quick to point out a few factors that they believe skewed the numbers, particularly how the men's final played simultaneously with the first NFL Sunday of the season.
Another reason was that the women's final featured Coco Gauff, an American, while the men's final did not feature an American (though it did feature arguably the greatest tennis player of all-time, Novak Djokovic).
These counters prompted Ohanian to wonder about another thought.
"Imagine a world where men didn't feel threatened by the success of women's sports. It's not a zero-sum, folks," Ohanian said.
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He continued by stressing that he finds its "interesting" that there are so many who are questioning the growth of women's sports because a lot of male athletes are actually the ones supporting and investing in women's sports.
Ohanian posted a thread highlighting some of the athletes who have invested or supported women's sports, including greats like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Kobe Bryant, and Jimmy Butler.
Imagine a world where men didn't feel threatened by the success of women's sports. It's not zero-sum, folks.
— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) September 13, 2023
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.
Game respect game. pic.twitter.com/V3K0BrD5fY
— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) September 13, 2023
(For everyone who missed the thread that sparked all this yesterday) 👇 https://t.co/HOvYljle5s
— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) September 13, 2023
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