April 23, 2025 • 37 mins
Meg Linehan didn’t follow a path into women’s sports journalism—she carved it. Now Senior Writer at The Athletic, she joins Courtside to talk about breaking in before there was even a beat, the evolution of media access, and where today's brands and storytellers have an opportunity to grow. From locker rooms to leadership, this one’s a blueprint.
00:00 Meet Meg Linehan
03:07 Freelancing and the Path to The Athletic
10:05 The Future of Women's Sports Reporting
13:48 Bridging the Generational Gap in Women's Sports
19:51 Media Training and Resource Allocation
24:42 The Next Generation of Soccer Talent
26:07 Globalization and Competition in Women's Soccer
28:54 Balancing Brand and Reporting
30:57 Future of Women's Sports Coverage
33:01 Advertising and Authentic Partnerships
37:37 Predictions and Final Thoughts
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
There is just something tangible about being in a magazine
or being in a newspaper that holds weight still right,
and even if people are reading it online, I think
just the feeling of a profile and what that can
unlock for an athlete is so different than like doing
a couple posts online.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome back to Courtside, where we're going to break down
the business of women's sports with the people shaping its future.
I'm your host Laura Karrenty on this episode of court
Side with Laura Currenty, I'm joined by the one and
only women's sports reporter now turned executive, Meg Lenihan. Meg
has been a fixture on the women's soccer and sports
(00:45):
circuit since the early two thousands, getting her start back
in two thousand and one as an intern in the
WUSA with the then Boston Breakers. Her journey and trajectory
through the world of women's soccer and women's sports has
made her one of the most trusted voices in the game.
Meg went on to join the Athletic in twenty nineteen
as the first at least until somebody tells me otherwise,
(01:08):
full time paid journalist in women's soccer. In her current
role at the athletics. She is now expanding to oversee
a department that is responsible for women's sports at large.
On this episode, she takes us through the journey, shares
her insights, talks about what she's betting on for the future,
and Meg doubles down on why resources are the most
fundamental and crucial component to growing women's sports. Join me
(01:32):
courtside with Meglenahan, Meg, Welcome to the show. Thank you
for having me. Meg. I'd love to just start from
the beginning. I think one of the most fascinating things
I've learned about you and from you is just how
little in the way women's sports journalists have existed as
full time paid positions, and how you were one of
(01:52):
the first. Can you take me back to the beginning
of your journey.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, I mean the beginning beginning is the ninety nine
World Cup. I mean that where all great women's sports
love stories begin, exactly exactly, And I mean it is
funny because I look back on that now and I
had created like this binder of every single article I
could find about the tournament, and now I'm.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Like, oh, okay, well that makes total sense, right.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I had no idea that that was such an indicator
of what I was about to do with my life.
But yeah, and then I interned for the Boston Breakers
in the first Women's Pro League og WUSA, right as
I think I was either fifteen or sixteen years old.
What year was that it was? The first season was
two thousand.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And one, I want to say.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah. Yeah. It took them a while to actually get
off the ground, and I wrote live updates in HTML.
There was no Twitter, right, so if you weren't at
the game, you could go to whatever it was, Boston Breakers,
dot net whatever, and I every five minutes to be like, well,
and they had a corner kick. They didn't do anything
with it, but they did have a corner kick, so
stuff maybe's gonna happen. Yeah, and then I just kind
(02:59):
of felt, you know, I went to college, fell away
from it, came back.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
In not just went to college. We were at the
same college and didn't know this until how many years later.
And Eagles in the house totally totally, so you know,
it was in DC.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
It was aware of the Washington Freedom and everything, but
had just you know, you get in that little bubble
and you don't really leave. And yeah, twenty eleven World
Cup came back around. I was back up in Massachusetts.
I was like, oh, yeah, women's soccer, I should get
back into this, and started freelancing, first as a photographer
really with Equalizer Soccer, one of the great you know,
(03:37):
independent sites started by Jeff cassoof and then started writing
and yeah, I mean these jobs, everybody's doing it out
of passion of love and paying their way, paying to work,
paying to work, and like doing your day job basically
paid for your women's soccer work habit instead of the
(03:58):
other way around.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It wasn't a side hustle. Yeah, the side hustle was
hustling you, right exactly. So there was this real sense of,
you know, this is something that I would obviously like
to do. It didn't really seem like there was actually
a path to you know, you had to work for
a team or there were writers like I think about
Grant wall right, who covered both men's and women's soccer
(04:21):
and obviously paid so much attention to women's soccer, but
it was not exclusively women's soccer, and I was like,
I don't really want to write about the men.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Sorry. So yeah, there was really the sense of Okay,
can I get away with this?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And so it was kind of a.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Freelance career eventually, and then I ended up at a
startup for women's sports full time. That was my first
job in twenty fifteen. I want to say so like
my life has kind of been defined by World Cups
in a very strange sense because then I worked for
the NWSEL proper for a couple of years, running social
(04:56):
media and then content, and then twenty nineteen rolled around,
and that's when I made the leap to the Athletic
and when the Athletic hired me in April twenty nineteen,
I actually just hit my six year anniversary. Congrats, thank you.
There was no full time women's soccer only reporter at
a mainstream outlet, and you know, no one is getting
paid in the world. I maybe I alreu like.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Until somebody tells me. Otherwise, I tell everybody you were
the first. It's really hard to not just also like
who tracks this stuff? Right, Like, I think we've been
working with data for a really long time on the
coverage of women's sports. That is it's tough, right, Like,
I think we've we finally started getting more, but that
four percent number hung over everyone for so long that
(05:41):
women's sports were only getting four percent of the coverage.
So yeah, I mean it has.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Been such I don't like I always joke like I
don't want to tally up how much money I spent
to like get my you know, I'd fly myself to
Texas to go to US women's national team games and
just like be like, Okay, who wants to share a
hotel room?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Right, just to make it happen exactly. So fast forward
to the twenty day World Club twenty three. It was
twenty three in Australia. I had the opportunity to work
with you on the back end to change the dynamic
by actually working with brands to underwrite and support creators
going to the space, because we were aware of the
(06:21):
lack of support that these stories would have on the ground.
I remember tracking your world travels. You were like Carmen
san Diego that year. It's like, where in the world
is Meg? How are you seeing the space evolve? Obviously
there are more full time women's sports reporters, journalists, creators
coming online, but did that indicate any tipping point to
you to see brands want to get in and around
(06:42):
the space to help support and elevate the amplification of
the coverage.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, I mean, I do think the money really does
just unlock a lot of things, right. That is kind
of how it always works, and it is really interesting
because I think you have this kind of very interesting
landscape right at the moment in the coverage of women's sports,
where we are finally starting to see more mainstream outlets
go Okay, we've got to like meaningfully cover women's sports, right,
(07:08):
But that is when your brand and you're coming into
this space, like I think most people go and they're like, Okay,
well I can sponsor a player or a team or
the league itself, right, and media sometimes is an afterthought.
And that's now I think where we're finally starting to
see some of these deals unfold, that can actually mean
(07:28):
like you're adding staff, right, Like that is still I
think the number one challenge of coverage of women's sports
is like you can you can go out and underwrite
these great, big, ambitious projects, but at the end of
the day, we still just need people, and.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So right staff, that's that's still where we're at. I
think being a full time women's sports reporter, now that
those opportunities are opening, are their skills or perhaps attention
that needs to be paid in a different way to
create more qualified leads in the space.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I mean, I think there's always going to be people
who want to do sports journalism, right, Like I do
think that that is generally a thing that if you
are a writer and you love sports, I think you
naturally are like, well, I could just write about sports.
And so what I find really interesting is now I
get a lot of college kids going to me and
saying like, Okay, how do I like become a women's
(08:22):
sports reporter? And I generally have to be like, I
honestly have no idea. You can't copy me, you don't
want to copy me. So like what the pathway is now,
I think is can we get more sort of entry
level stuff, right because I do think what happens is
you get places that are hiring like one person that
has to do a whole bunch of things, right Like
(08:43):
either you're a women's sports beat reporter at a newspaper
who has to cover every single team in a market,
or you're like, oh, a WNBA like trending newswriter, and
so you've got to try to like wrap your arms
around this whole entire league where something is popping off
every single day, and so can we get kind of
more dialed down so that way there are entry level
(09:07):
jobs available in the space, because that, to me still
is a real area where if you're coming out of
college you want to be a women's sports reporter, it
just feels like you have to already be at a
certain level in order established exactly exactly because there's just
so few roles. As you're experiencing this and seeing this
and at the same time growing the department that you
(09:28):
are now leading within the athletic how are you shaping
the future of women's sports reported and coverage, storytelling what's
important to you that hasn't been covered or really focused
on now that you're in this new role and able
to put your fingerprints on it, Yeah, I think to me,
the biggest challenge is just actually treating it like sports right.
(09:48):
Like I think for me, one of the biggest selling
points of the athletics since I have been there is
that the women's sports coverage just lives right alongside it's
sports coverage. It's it's not kind of siloed off, And
so how do you then still make it known that
we're covering women's sports right so it's about the accessibility
of it. We have a partnership with Yahoo, so everything
(10:10):
is actually free outside of the paywall on this hub
that the Athletic has created with Yahoo. How do we
get people to know that so that way they are
still able to access our coverage. How is it being promoted?
How are we growing our podcast network? Obviously full Time,
the podcast that I started, you know, during the pandemic
not knowing what I was doing, is now up to
(10:30):
three shows a week. Right to Merk Griffin, who was
one of those hires that we made during the twenty
twenty three World Cup, has now finally come on full time.
I heard congrats, psyched to hear it so super exciting,
and we host the Wednesday show. Jillian Sakovitz comes in
Monday and Fridays to do kind of more news focused stuff,
so that we were finally like we're actually able to
(10:52):
kind of cover the news and the things that we
want to talk about. Right like that, to me is
the ultimate dream thing is being able to handle what's
happening on a day to day, weekly basis and then
the bigger topics that need in depth focus. And it's
just truly still like we're at an infrastructure level. I
think the storytelling is there. Everything Like we're all dreaming big.
(11:15):
It's just like, how can we dream big and still
do the work that has to get done in order
for people to know what's happening in the league every.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Day in sustaining the day to day And as much
as I feel like you've single handedly carried so much
of women's soccer on your back and having to do
both the breaking news all the way through to the
in depth, you've covered some really important topics over the years.
What still is missing from the coverage? Is it the drama?
What's going to break through? How do we bring in
more casual fans? What do you get the most clicks on? Who?
(11:48):
I mean?
Speaker 1 (11:49):
The US women's national team is still such a driver
of traffic right, Like that is I think such an
easy entry point for people because it's a very easy
thing for people to understand. Not every has an NWCL team, right,
not every city has a WNBA team. But Caitlin Clark
has like broken through for the WNBA in a way
that the NWSL doesn't have that kind of central figure.
(12:12):
And I do, like listen, I think there are pros
and cons to having an athlete that kind of sucks
up a lot of oxygen in the room. But what
is I think one of the things that I'm tracking
on the soccer side is is Trinity Rodman going to
be like that next player that truly transcends. Obviously there
are like extremely talented athletes Barbara Banda to Muchawinga, Like
(12:33):
the NWSL is chock full of talent, and we're finally
seeing the league like really, you know, they they went
out and had a Times.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Square billboard for like what major like weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Apparently I don't know how much money that costs them,
but you know, Alex Morgan retiring, Megan Rapino retiring, We've
got this vacuum right now.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And so yes, like.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
The US national team is easy to understand. How do
you build from there?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
One of the things I want to click in on
because I this is something that keeps me up a
lot at night, because you have this generational gap right
like we just saw the mass exodus and retirement of
a generation that many of us as adults now have
grown up on. We know the stories we were there,
so to speak. When these big moments have happened in
big games, big World Cups, big Olympics and now there's
(13:35):
an entirely new generation that lives in the feed is
tiktoking connected in with the next generation, But there is
this gap that you know, I feel like we've gone
from transcending the mainstream media now into the group chat
and it's like I'm just trying to understand and get
around it. Who are these players? How much does that
(13:55):
sit on the federation, how much does it sit on
the NWSL, and how much does it sit on you?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Right? Yeah, I actually so I went out to LA
for a US women's national team game and sat down
with Billy Jane King and like I we kind of
got there between the two of us, but She's just like,
don't get me started. You know, the players can't just
rely on social media. They have to do media. They
have to do you know, press conferences, and they have
(14:21):
to talk to reporters, and they have to go out
and tell their stories because otherwise how you know.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
They need all of it.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
And so I think that's the part of it is like, yes,
I think you need to be on social you need
to show personality, right, And there is obviously a line
between keeping things private while still having sure you know,
an entry into people wanting to follow you and support
you as an athlete, But there are other parts of it. Like, yes,
branded content is definitely one of those things, but you
(14:49):
also still need like organic news coverage in order to
make all of those other pieces work, because at the
end of the day, I think there is still a
power to having your face in the newspaper.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Right, and the real story. I'm a big print girl.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, Like there is just something tangible about being in
a magazine or being in a newspaper that holds weight still, right,
and even if people are reading it online, I think
just the feeling of a profile and what that can
unlock for an athlete is so different than like doing
(15:26):
a couple posts online and you'd like, again, you need
it all.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think it's an and yeah, it's not a more absolutely,
but I do think that this is something that I've
been very cognizant of also on the commercial side, because
those that are OG's in the space that are there,
they're going to support it no matter what. But for
many of the newcomers, especially the non endemics, it's a
very headline driven investment decision making process. And so while
(15:50):
you may be crushing it on TikTok and developing this
rabid audience of Jena. If advertisers, marketers, brands are not
aware because you're not doing that side of it, I
think it absolutely impacts investment decisions. I'd love to get
your take on where you see the league, the teams,
the athletes, and how they're breaking through and how maybe
(16:11):
even fans that you engage with when you're on site
are reacting to it. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I mean in terms of covering the NWSLL, it is
a bit of a challenge still. I mean I think
you know the US women's national team, to go and
cover a game, you always know what you're going to get, right.
You're going to get a mix zone where you can
request your player that you need to talk to. You'll
get a real press conference with MHS two of them actually,
So there are ways to cover those games.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
The NWSEL I think is still a little bit tougher, right.
I Mean I talk to folks from ESPN or other
major outlets of like, okay, how is your access at
the end, people are just like, okay, it was. It
was more work than I anticipated. So I think there
are still you know, we saw that new cycle with
the WNBA too about players access, right, so there are
(17:01):
still roads to be built there and for like trust
to be built. But you know, I think about teams
like ooh, Kansas City for a while there, especially around
every all of the storytelling around the stadium and what
that did.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Right, Like I'm a.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Truther around the Kansas City Stadium for NWSL because there
were stadiums built for previous women's soccer teams in Atlanta
and in North Carolina, but like that stadium is just
truly like it's a work of art and the facility
like that is one of the major stories of the
nwsls what owning your own facility can do for you
(17:39):
in terms of controlling your own destiny. The way that
Kansas City Jeff Houstead, who's now with BFC, you know,
really just was so proactive around coverage. That's why we
saw so much coverage of that stadium, the NWSL Championship
being there. Just every single image of that, like that
to me is a real worse staring at the future.
(18:01):
And that's why so many other NASEL teams and even
WNBA teams are thinking about facilities in a way that
they haven't before.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
It's also interesting just to think about the resources right
and where things have been under resource, understaffed, under leverage.
And I often think of how little has been done
in the way of media advertising marketing, both at the league,
a team, and I'll even argue athlete level. One of
the things that I am and again as somebody who's
working with brands to bring more dollars to the space
(18:31):
full stop, that is my central mission. The lack of
media training. Yes, who is the onus on and how
do we ensure that we're setting up these athletes for
success so they know when to walk into a press conference,
a profile and they're ready to deliver because often I
mean you see it. You know, they get thrown on
TV after you know, a halftime they've never been on
(18:53):
TV before, and then we're expecting them to perform, you know,
the way a season veteran would. Totally.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
But what is interesting to me is you watch like
NCAA women's basketball, right, and so many of these kids
are just like pros at navigating the media space because
they have to do media constantly, right, basketball they have
to do media constantly, and so there is an analogy. Yeah,
there is such a different approach there like it's just
(19:19):
so uneven across all of the sports and so it
is really hard to know who needs to own this.
I think it ultimately does fall to leagues right to enable,
Like it has to start at the league level. It
probably has to happen at the clubs. But if you're
going to mandate players do media access, which they do right,
(19:40):
it's written into you've got to actually you've got to
sell them on why they need it to right, And
there definitely has to be a trust thing, right of
knowing what you need to share and win. But it
does come down to I think leagues to say, if
we want to build this leag we need players and
(20:01):
clubs to buy into that vision. And so much of
that comes down to media.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
You keep using the word trust, and I know you
are one of, if not the most trusted voice in
women's soccer in large part because you've been there. You've
been there for so long, You've been part of the
growth the fabric the players respect and love you. Talk
about what that means, how you maintain it, protect it,
and ultimately what you would share with aspiring or new
(20:26):
journalists coming in that haven't been there since the beginning
and are getting blocked or stiff armed from league's teams
or athletes who don't know them and might not trust them.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I mean, I think part of it really is just
showing up, right, and that's hard sometimes, it's really hard.
When I had a full time job, trying to go
to training on a regular.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Basis was not the easiest task. And so.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
There really is the sense of, you know, does a
player see you on a regular basis?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Can they read and know?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Okay, like they might be critical at times, but it's
going to at least be kind of a fair criticism, right,
And I don't know, I think it would be really
hard to replicate, just because when I was showing up
to games, no one was really like it would be me,
Jeff Casue fright, like a handful of us. So there
really is this kind of built in thing. But now
that trust to some extent has carried over with the
(21:21):
next generation, but not entirely. Right, My relationship with older
players is very different than what it is with players
coming in, So you have to keep working at it, right,
It is a very constant process. But I do think
just also it is a really transactional business and being
able to step outside of that transactional relationship just when
(21:43):
you see players and not like trying to be friends
with them, but like being able to be like, listen,
I'm trying to do my job. You're trying to do
your job. Not everything's on the record, yeah, not everything
is not Like you can tell me stuff and it
will go on the vault and that's where it lives forever.
And you know that is really I mean, the biggest
(22:04):
story of my career is always going to be, you know,
the story around sexual assault and abuse in the end
of Yousell, And that was really the product of knowing
a player since twenty thirteen, right, like that's all it was,
and not knowing what was happening in real time, but
just kind of having built relationships and built trust over
(22:26):
a really long time.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
And that's not.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
I think you just have to like approach it where
sometimes the scoop is not worth it, right, like, it
just isn't. And I had a really longstanding personal rule
that fortunately I got to finally throw out because the
roster rules changed so drastically in the NWBSEL. But I
wouldn't report on player trades if the player didn't know
that they were being traded. And other people didn't have
(22:52):
that rule.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Talk about this next generation, what are you most excited
about on the field, and then tell me all of
your thoughts on the Emma Hayes takeover.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
It's just all these kids are so talented, right, Like
I mean, I go back to Olivia Moultrie having to
sue the NWSEL to play in the league, right, And
I think that's when mentally I was why did she
sue them just so that they was Yeah, So this
is before Olivia Moultrie turned eighteen, and before the NDWSEL
had a mechanism for players under eighteen playing in the league.
(23:24):
Now they're down to a fourteen year old playing at Gotham.
But Olivia Moultrie had basically foregone college and said, hey,
I want to turn pro in Portland, had been training
with the first team I think was fifteen sixteen at
the time, and the end of b CL's like, well,
we don't, we can't let you. You're not eighteen yet,
we don't have a mechanism for this. So she actually
sued the league and it was one of the most
(23:46):
fascinating stories I've ever had to report on. But that
is I think it just shows what this new generation
is willing to do in order to like follow their
path to be pro.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
How are you seeing all so the globalization interest from
the US side, I mean, besides the fact that Ted
Lasso is going to be coaching a women's team this
upcoming season. But what is your take? Obviously, I feel
like for so long in the US we've naval gays
where the best we've always been the best will continue
to be the best. I think if the twenty three
World Cup taught us anything, the world has absolutely caught up.
(24:21):
What are your thoughts on outbound and then inbound?
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I mean, that's why I think the ma hayes Hire
is really interesting, right because there's not going to be
that pressure for American players to stay in the NWSL,
And honestly, that's a good thing. Like the competition for
the NWSEL was long overdue and I think needs to
push the league forward and make it a better league.
So it shouldn't be that surprising that Naomi Germa right
(24:47):
is the first million dollar player to go overseas. She's
arguably the best defender in the world. We haven't seen
it yet in Chelsea because she's been hurt, but that
is going to I think like, does a Secretary of
Defense apply in the UN or is it a Minister
of Defense?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I need to understand what happens. No, right, what is
their title chance? Shoe? Yeah, so I do.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
I'm not as thrown by those conversations, right, Like, I
think it is really hard to compete with just the
appeal of Champions League for a lot of players. But
what we're seeing now, which I think is really interesting,
is coaches coming to the US, coming to the end
of USEL after they win Champions League a couple of times,
and they're like, Okay, what's next? What do I try
to exactly? And so that's that's where we're finally starting
(25:31):
to see this balance of players are going to want
the end of a cell championship, They're going to want
to win Champions League, and that's it's just going to
be a bigger global landscape and that's going to benefit everyone.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I think it's great for the game. I think it's
great for business. You know. The thing that I do
see playing out at least early indicators of is the
difference in where players go and why. You know, you
heard Ernie Romans say not that long ago that you
know she'd be remiss not to give herself an opportunity
to play in Europe. At the same token, I've talked
with some of the most elite players in the WSL,
(26:05):
some of the Lioness who play in different countries in
different leagues. They absolutely want to come to the NWSL.
Why because the commercial opportunities in the US are that
much greater, And so it is interesting, like will the
NWSL become the final third for many of those players
because a They're going to bring that cultural relevance with
them while they benefit from the upside of a hot
(26:27):
US commercial market. So it is interesting to see what
roles these leagues will play in the journey and development
of player careers. Talk to me about Meg Lenahan the
(26:49):
brand versus Meg Lenahan the reporter. Lenahan the brand doesn't exist.
I actually like I disagree and say Meg without the
Linahan all right, all right, I'll tak it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
It is really because when I worked at the end
of so one of the reasons why I didn't want
to go to the Athletic at first was because I
was like, I'm behind the scenes here.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I don't have to be front and center.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Because when you're out here as a reporter there is
that sense of Okay, I have to be a brand.
I have to go out and sell myself. I have
to self promote, and I am not good at any
of that, and I would rather I would, but I
would much rather. That's why I think I'm so excited
by this new job, because I would rather be tinkering
in a back room looking at data, trying to figure
(27:33):
out how do we make the coverage better than maybe
being out, you know, front and center, doing a panelge
or like both of those. There's a part of me
that enjoys both. Don't get me wrong, but there is.
I think I get filled up by the work where
you get to kind of be out of sight and
then suddenly show up and be like, look how we're
improving things.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Look how we're doing something better.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
And so there has been I think a real challenge
of I mean like I've gone to nwsell ar US
games with coworkers and I walk around the concourse and
they're like, you are getting stopped.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
A lot Meglenahan. The brand had to exist for Meg Lenahan,
the executive, and the investment and the resources and the
support to come, because without I believe the forward facing,
hard charging like renegade that you've been. I think it's
difficult for people to pay attention and put the resources
in investment. So I think you give yourself some credit
(28:29):
there because I think without the work you did from facing,
I think women's soccer coverage would be in a much
different place. So I think I love both. But I
totally get what you're saying in terms of build. What
are you most excited about in this next cycle? As
we you know, we got the Euros coming up on
the heels of Brazil World Cup, and then LA twenty
eight and then thirty one. I mean, it's it's gonna
(28:49):
be a whirlwind. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
It just feels like there's always some major event that
we're staring down and being like okay, and like I'm
already kind of mentally going, okay, how we're doing twenty seven?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Right? In? What do you think? I mean?
Speaker 1 (29:02):
I just honestly my dream story is just following Marta
around Brazil, being party captain through that whole world.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I'm just like, what is she going to be up to?
Speaker 1 (29:12):
I'm ready to find out, just like a documentary in
the making.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Yeah, let me follow her around.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I just want to see what party she manages to
get to start wherever she goes. But yeah, I mean
I think that those are just the momentum swings, right,
and so how do you build on each one? How
does the wave get higher on each one?
Speaker 2 (29:29):
How do you.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Sweep more people behind you with each one of those waves?
And Euros is big, but there's also Commonobal, there's also Africa, right,
And I think because we're seeing such international growth in
the end of Busell, there's real opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Of oh, you know, I'm on the bandawagon.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
That's fine, exactly, yeah, totally, And so there's there's that,
and then you think about, I mean this WNBA season
coming up, Like what I'm really excited too is to
to finally be able to dip in the sports. I'm
really excited for the Winter Olympics, right, Like athletes like
Mikhaela Schiffrin really only get that spotlight every couple of years,
(30:08):
and obviously she stands out from that pack, but how
do you do big storytelling around the Winter Olympics, Like,
you know, I'm a USA hockey slash Hillary Knight person
probably her last Olympics, so real storytelling opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I'm excited for the Meg Lenahan crossover. Hearing you talk
about all these other sports and athletes, I think it's great. Yeah,
And before I let you go, I guess you know,
you've just been in the thick of it for so long,
and obviously I know so much through the lens of editorial.
But as we're really trying to inform and educate the
advertising marketplace and now sitting on both sides of the desk,
what are advertisers missing? What are some of the things
(30:47):
you've learned over the course of this journey that you
think people just aren't either not that they're not getting it,
but they're not aware of or maybe don't know the
right questions to ask. That's a really good one.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I mean I do think that just knowing when you know,
I think about an athlete like Sophia Wilson, right, formerly
Sophia Smith, there is like I think about her, Nike
spots are some of the most fun Nike spots, but
you've got to have those live alongside real feature you know,
enterprise writing about her, and that's where I think that's
(31:22):
been missing, right, And I think as an advertiser, you
can't want to control those big feature you know, you
can't be like, oh, she sat down with someone because
of this sponsor. You have to just let that happen
and let the control of it go a little bit,
because it's only going to organically boost both the athlete,
your brand partnership with her, all of that. And so
(31:46):
I think it is just what I think I would
like to see, you know, when I get hit up
by advertisers who are like, hey, we partnered with this
athlete who's doing X, Y Z. We'd really like you
to cover it, And I'm like, I would also probably
like to cover it, but because you're pitching it to
me as this kind of sponsor content, I'm probably not
going to be able to because it's gonna people are
(32:06):
gonna read through it immediately. And so how do you
let go of that level of it and trust that
it will naturally benefit that partnership? Right, an authentic partnership
will break through for sure, exactly exactly. And so that's
that is my like little Oh, I'd really like to
get there, just like, trust me that I can get
you there.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
If I gave you a blank check at an extra hour,
what would you do with it at this point in time?
I mean blank check in an extra hour.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It would honestly just be like how many people can
I hire with that blank check? Like true, That's what
it comes down to still is could I get someone
who knows volleyball in the door? Right? Like that's such
an up and coming sport? Could I get someone that knows?
Could I get an enterprise writer in or promote one
of our own right to like just listen.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
It's crazy how the fundamentals it's literally just like we
just need staff.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, I mean that's that's that's still what it is.
Just like you know, you think about the operations that
so many places just have, where you think about NFL
staffs compared to like all of the NFL compared to
every single woman's sport just absolutely dwarfs it.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
And so they argue that one woman completely did the
job for all of those people. But that's a different pot. No.
It is interesting how sometimes it just comes down to that,
which is resources, and those resources require investment. And we've
seen the power of when those things are on and
the foots on the guests just how much consumers will respond.
(33:35):
And I think talking about those tempole moments is a
total indicator when all eyes are on Australia. Not only
are they filling tens of thousands of people, I mean
what was the semi final final is like seventy eighty
thousand people?
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean just absolute crowds, right, And so
there is I mean again it like I don't want
to keep hammering the same point, but resources are so crucial,
and I think there are such big stories still waiting
to be told, right like if who do you want
to interview this year?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
What's your like? I got to get this person on
the mic.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
I don't know if i've I mean now that I
am in, you know, I can kind of. I do
feel like I'm probably gonna get sent to Indiana at
some point, right, the Caitlin Clark moment will probably happen.
But what I mean that to me is a challenge
though what story hasn't been told about her yet?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Because there has to be something there freely does and
so that is always I think a really fun challenge
of can you find a way in on an athlete
that just has walls and walls of coverage.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Which is also a great prompt for advertisers, by the way,
in terms of their partnership briefs. Yeah, it's a really
strong one. Who's winning the NWSL shield and who's winning
the championship this year? Who?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
I mean, we've got three real clear front runners right now.
Kansas City has looked very consistent. I do think Kansas
City might have the edge shield for championship. It does
feel always like a fool's air, I mean the Washington
spirit or my team coming in to watch, just because
I think there is real power in losing the championship
(35:13):
the year.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Oh yeah, you always got a chip, right.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Yeah, there's just something about, you know, losing and losing
in a really rough fashion, which I feel they feel
hard done by that championship.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
So I do.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I think, you know, Orlando is a great team, and
like you never want to rule out Orlando, and I
think they are getting fuel off of kind of already
being forgotten about. So it's one of those three teams
I think, no matter what. But I'll remind you of
this when I see you in October.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah. No, it's exciting, and Meg, just thank you for
all that you do and continue to do to drive
us forward. I mean, without your voice and your platform,
I don't think women's sports, let alone women's soccer is
anywhere near the level of visible end or level of
access without you, So thank you and for everybody listening.
If you don't all ready, make sure you subscribe to
(36:01):
full time. But are you gonna have to change that?
Or I guess full time applies for everything. Full time
now you might have to change the image though you've
got a soccer in there. Yeah, Meg Lenahan, you're one
of one. Thank you for joining me court Side and
I'll see you at a game soon. Yep, thank you.
I'm your host Laura Crenti, founder and CEO of Deep
(36:22):
Blue Sports and Entertainment. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz,
and this show is produced by Ryan Martz along with
associate producers Meredith Barnes and Rachel Zuckerman. Court Side is
an iHeart Women's sports production and partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Want more, follow, rate
(36:43):
and review court Side wherever you get your podcasts, and
stay in the game by following us on social media
at iHeart Women's Sports, and don't forget to subscribe to
our newsletter. In the show notes, thanks for listening. We'll
see you next time court side.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Look at me
There is just something tangible about being in a magazine
or being in a newspaper that holds weight still right,
and even if people are reading it online, I think
just the feeling of a profile and what that can
unlock for an athlete is so different than like doing
a couple posts online.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome back to Courtside, where we're going to break down
the business of women's sports with the people shaping its future.
I'm your host Laura Karrenty on this episode of court
Side with Laura Currenty, I'm joined by the one and
only women's sports reporter now turned executive, Meg Lenihan. Meg
has been a fixture on the women's soccer and sports
(00:45):
circuit since the early two thousands, getting her start back
in two thousand and one as an intern in the
WUSA with the then Boston Breakers. Her journey and trajectory
through the world of women's soccer and women's sports has
made her one of the most trusted voices in the game.
Meg went on to join the Athletic in twenty nineteen
as the first at least until somebody tells me otherwise,
(01:08):
full time paid journalist in women's soccer. In her current
role at the athletics. She is now expanding to oversee
a department that is responsible for women's sports at large.
On this episode, she takes us through the journey, shares
her insights, talks about what she's betting on for the future,
and Meg doubles down on why resources are the most
fundamental and crucial component to growing women's sports. Join me
(01:32):
courtside with Meglenahan, Meg, Welcome to the show. Thank you
for having me. Meg. I'd love to just start from
the beginning. I think one of the most fascinating things
I've learned about you and from you is just how
little in the way women's sports journalists have existed as
full time paid positions, and how you were one of
(01:52):
the first. Can you take me back to the beginning
of your journey.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, I mean the beginning beginning is the ninety nine
World Cup. I mean that where all great women's sports
love stories begin, exactly exactly, And I mean it is
funny because I look back on that now and I
had created like this binder of every single article I
could find about the tournament, and now I'm.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Like, oh, okay, well that makes total sense, right.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I had no idea that that was such an indicator
of what I was about to do with my life.
But yeah, and then I interned for the Boston Breakers
in the first Women's Pro League og WUSA, right as
I think I was either fifteen or sixteen years old.
What year was that it was? The first season was
two thousand.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And one, I want to say.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah. Yeah. It took them a while to actually get
off the ground, and I wrote live updates in HTML.
There was no Twitter, right, so if you weren't at
the game, you could go to whatever it was, Boston Breakers,
dot net whatever, and I every five minutes to be like, well,
and they had a corner kick. They didn't do anything
with it, but they did have a corner kick, so
stuff maybe's gonna happen. Yeah, and then I just kind
(02:59):
of felt, you know, I went to college, fell away
from it, came back.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
In not just went to college. We were at the
same college and didn't know this until how many years later.
And Eagles in the house totally totally, so you know,
it was in DC.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
It was aware of the Washington Freedom and everything, but
had just you know, you get in that little bubble
and you don't really leave. And yeah, twenty eleven World
Cup came back around. I was back up in Massachusetts.
I was like, oh, yeah, women's soccer, I should get
back into this, and started freelancing, first as a photographer
really with Equalizer Soccer, one of the great you know,
(03:37):
independent sites started by Jeff cassoof and then started writing
and yeah, I mean these jobs, everybody's doing it out
of passion of love and paying their way, paying to work,
paying to work, and like doing your day job basically
paid for your women's soccer work habit instead of the
(03:58):
other way around.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It wasn't a side hustle. Yeah, the side hustle was
hustling you, right exactly. So there was this real sense of,
you know, this is something that I would obviously like
to do. It didn't really seem like there was actually
a path to you know, you had to work for
a team or there were writers like I think about
Grant wall right, who covered both men's and women's soccer
(04:21):
and obviously paid so much attention to women's soccer, but
it was not exclusively women's soccer, and I was like,
I don't really want to write about the men.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Sorry. So yeah, there was really the sense of Okay,
can I get away with this?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And so it was kind of a.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Freelance career eventually, and then I ended up at a
startup for women's sports full time. That was my first
job in twenty fifteen. I want to say so like
my life has kind of been defined by World Cups
in a very strange sense because then I worked for
the NWSEL proper for a couple of years, running social
(04:56):
media and then content, and then twenty nineteen rolled around,
and that's when I made the leap to the Athletic
and when the Athletic hired me in April twenty nineteen,
I actually just hit my six year anniversary. Congrats, thank you.
There was no full time women's soccer only reporter at
a mainstream outlet, and you know, no one is getting
paid in the world. I maybe I alreu like.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Until somebody tells me. Otherwise, I tell everybody you were
the first. It's really hard to not just also like
who tracks this stuff? Right, Like, I think we've been
working with data for a really long time on the
coverage of women's sports. That is it's tough, right, Like,
I think we've we finally started getting more, but that
four percent number hung over everyone for so long that
(05:41):
women's sports were only getting four percent of the coverage.
So yeah, I mean it has.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Been such I don't like I always joke like I
don't want to tally up how much money I spent
to like get my you know, I'd fly myself to
Texas to go to US women's national team games and
just like be like, Okay, who wants to share a
hotel room?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Right, just to make it happen exactly. So fast forward
to the twenty day World Club twenty three. It was
twenty three in Australia. I had the opportunity to work
with you on the back end to change the dynamic
by actually working with brands to underwrite and support creators
going to the space, because we were aware of the
(06:21):
lack of support that these stories would have on the ground.
I remember tracking your world travels. You were like Carmen
san Diego that year. It's like, where in the world
is Meg? How are you seeing the space evolve? Obviously
there are more full time women's sports reporters, journalists, creators
coming online, but did that indicate any tipping point to
you to see brands want to get in and around
(06:42):
the space to help support and elevate the amplification of
the coverage.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, I mean, I do think the money really does
just unlock a lot of things, right. That is kind
of how it always works, and it is really interesting
because I think you have this kind of very interesting
landscape right at the moment in the coverage of women's sports,
where we are finally starting to see more mainstream outlets
go Okay, we've got to like meaningfully cover women's sports, right,
(07:08):
But that is when your brand and you're coming into
this space, like I think most people go and they're like, Okay,
well I can sponsor a player or a team or
the league itself, right, and media sometimes is an afterthought.
And that's now I think where we're finally starting to
see some of these deals unfold, that can actually mean
(07:28):
like you're adding staff, right, Like that is still I
think the number one challenge of coverage of women's sports
is like you can you can go out and underwrite
these great, big, ambitious projects, but at the end of
the day, we still just need people, and.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So right staff, that's that's still where we're at. I
think being a full time women's sports reporter, now that
those opportunities are opening, are their skills or perhaps attention
that needs to be paid in a different way to
create more qualified leads in the space.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I mean, I think there's always going to be people
who want to do sports journalism, right, Like I do
think that that is generally a thing that if you
are a writer and you love sports, I think you
naturally are like, well, I could just write about sports.
And so what I find really interesting is now I
get a lot of college kids going to me and
saying like, Okay, how do I like become a women's
(08:22):
sports reporter? And I generally have to be like, I
honestly have no idea. You can't copy me, you don't
want to copy me. So like what the pathway is now,
I think is can we get more sort of entry
level stuff, right because I do think what happens is
you get places that are hiring like one person that
has to do a whole bunch of things, right Like
(08:43):
either you're a women's sports beat reporter at a newspaper
who has to cover every single team in a market,
or you're like, oh, a WNBA like trending newswriter, and
so you've got to try to like wrap your arms
around this whole entire league where something is popping off
every single day, and so can we get kind of
more dialed down so that way there are entry level
(09:07):
jobs available in the space, because that, to me still
is a real area where if you're coming out of
college you want to be a women's sports reporter, it
just feels like you have to already be at a
certain level in order established exactly exactly because there's just
so few roles. As you're experiencing this and seeing this
and at the same time growing the department that you
(09:28):
are now leading within the athletic how are you shaping
the future of women's sports reported and coverage, storytelling what's
important to you that hasn't been covered or really focused
on now that you're in this new role and able
to put your fingerprints on it, Yeah, I think to me,
the biggest challenge is just actually treating it like sports right.
(09:48):
Like I think for me, one of the biggest selling
points of the athletics since I have been there is
that the women's sports coverage just lives right alongside it's
sports coverage. It's it's not kind of siloed off, And
so how do you then still make it known that
we're covering women's sports right so it's about the accessibility
of it. We have a partnership with Yahoo, so everything
(10:10):
is actually free outside of the paywall on this hub
that the Athletic has created with Yahoo. How do we
get people to know that so that way they are
still able to access our coverage. How is it being promoted?
How are we growing our podcast network? Obviously full Time,
the podcast that I started, you know, during the pandemic
not knowing what I was doing, is now up to
(10:30):
three shows a week. Right to Merk Griffin, who was
one of those hires that we made during the twenty
twenty three World Cup, has now finally come on full time.
I heard congrats, psyched to hear it so super exciting,
and we host the Wednesday show. Jillian Sakovitz comes in
Monday and Fridays to do kind of more news focused stuff,
so that we were finally like we're actually able to
(10:52):
kind of cover the news and the things that we
want to talk about. Right like that, to me is
the ultimate dream thing is being able to handle what's
happening on a day to day, weekly basis and then
the bigger topics that need in depth focus. And it's
just truly still like we're at an infrastructure level. I
think the storytelling is there. Everything Like we're all dreaming big.
(11:15):
It's just like, how can we dream big and still
do the work that has to get done in order
for people to know what's happening in the league every.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Day in sustaining the day to day And as much
as I feel like you've single handedly carried so much
of women's soccer on your back and having to do
both the breaking news all the way through to the
in depth, you've covered some really important topics over the years.
What still is missing from the coverage? Is it the drama?
What's going to break through? How do we bring in
more casual fans? What do you get the most clicks on? Who?
(11:48):
I mean?
Speaker 1 (11:49):
The US women's national team is still such a driver
of traffic right, Like that is I think such an
easy entry point for people because it's a very easy
thing for people to understand. Not every has an NWCL team, right,
not every city has a WNBA team. But Caitlin Clark
has like broken through for the WNBA in a way
that the NWSL doesn't have that kind of central figure.
(12:12):
And I do, like listen, I think there are pros
and cons to having an athlete that kind of sucks
up a lot of oxygen in the room. But what
is I think one of the things that I'm tracking
on the soccer side is is Trinity Rodman going to
be like that next player that truly transcends. Obviously there
are like extremely talented athletes Barbara Banda to Muchawinga, Like
(12:33):
the NWSL is chock full of talent, and we're finally
seeing the league like really, you know, they they went
out and had a Times.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Square billboard for like what major like weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Apparently I don't know how much money that costs them,
but you know, Alex Morgan retiring, Megan Rapino retiring, We've
got this vacuum right now.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And so yes, like.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
The US national team is easy to understand. How do
you build from there?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
One of the things I want to click in on
because I this is something that keeps me up a
lot at night, because you have this generational gap right
like we just saw the mass exodus and retirement of
a generation that many of us as adults now have
grown up on. We know the stories we were there,
so to speak. When these big moments have happened in
big games, big World Cups, big Olympics and now there's
(13:35):
an entirely new generation that lives in the feed is
tiktoking connected in with the next generation, But there is
this gap that you know, I feel like we've gone
from transcending the mainstream media now into the group chat
and it's like I'm just trying to understand and get
around it. Who are these players? How much does that
(13:55):
sit on the federation, how much does it sit on
the NWSL, and how much does it sit on you?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Right? Yeah, I actually so I went out to LA
for a US women's national team game and sat down
with Billy Jane King and like I we kind of
got there between the two of us, but She's just like,
don't get me started. You know, the players can't just
rely on social media. They have to do media. They
have to do you know, press conferences, and they have
(14:21):
to talk to reporters, and they have to go out
and tell their stories because otherwise how you know.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
They need all of it.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
And so I think that's the part of it is like, yes,
I think you need to be on social you need
to show personality, right, And there is obviously a line
between keeping things private while still having sure you know,
an entry into people wanting to follow you and support
you as an athlete, But there are other parts of it. Like, yes,
branded content is definitely one of those things, but you
(14:49):
also still need like organic news coverage in order to
make all of those other pieces work, because at the
end of the day, I think there is still a
power to having your face in the newspaper.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Right, and the real story. I'm a big print girl.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, Like there is just something tangible about being in
a magazine or being in a newspaper that holds weight still, right,
and even if people are reading it online, I think
just the feeling of a profile and what that can
unlock for an athlete is so different than like doing
(15:26):
a couple posts online and you'd like, again, you need
it all.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I think it's an and yeah, it's not a more absolutely,
but I do think that this is something that I've
been very cognizant of also on the commercial side, because
those that are OG's in the space that are there,
they're going to support it no matter what. But for
many of the newcomers, especially the non endemics, it's a
very headline driven investment decision making process. And so while
(15:50):
you may be crushing it on TikTok and developing this
rabid audience of Jena. If advertisers, marketers, brands are not
aware because you're not doing that side of it, I
think it absolutely impacts investment decisions. I'd love to get
your take on where you see the league, the teams,
the athletes, and how they're breaking through and how maybe
(16:11):
even fans that you engage with when you're on site
are reacting to it. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I mean in terms of covering the NWSLL, it is
a bit of a challenge still. I mean I think
you know the US women's national team, to go and
cover a game, you always know what you're going to get, right.
You're going to get a mix zone where you can
request your player that you need to talk to. You'll
get a real press conference with MHS two of them actually,
So there are ways to cover those games.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
The NWSEL I think is still a little bit tougher, right.
I Mean I talk to folks from ESPN or other
major outlets of like, okay, how is your access at
the end, people are just like, okay, it was. It
was more work than I anticipated. So I think there
are still you know, we saw that new cycle with
the WNBA too about players access, right, so there are
(17:01):
still roads to be built there and for like trust
to be built. But you know, I think about teams
like ooh, Kansas City for a while there, especially around
every all of the storytelling around the stadium and what
that did.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Right, Like I'm a.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Truther around the Kansas City Stadium for NWSL because there
were stadiums built for previous women's soccer teams in Atlanta
and in North Carolina, but like that stadium is just
truly like it's a work of art and the facility
like that is one of the major stories of the
nwsls what owning your own facility can do for you
(17:39):
in terms of controlling your own destiny. The way that
Kansas City Jeff Houstead, who's now with BFC, you know,
really just was so proactive around coverage. That's why we
saw so much coverage of that stadium, the NWSL Championship
being there. Just every single image of that, like that
to me is a real worse staring at the future.
(18:01):
And that's why so many other NASEL teams and even
WNBA teams are thinking about facilities in a way that
they haven't before.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
It's also interesting just to think about the resources right
and where things have been under resource, understaffed, under leverage.
And I often think of how little has been done
in the way of media advertising marketing, both at the league,
a team, and I'll even argue athlete level. One of
the things that I am and again as somebody who's
working with brands to bring more dollars to the space
(18:31):
full stop, that is my central mission. The lack of
media training. Yes, who is the onus on and how
do we ensure that we're setting up these athletes for
success so they know when to walk into a press conference,
a profile and they're ready to deliver because often I
mean you see it. You know, they get thrown on
TV after you know, a halftime they've never been on
(18:53):
TV before, and then we're expecting them to perform, you know,
the way a season veteran would. Totally.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
But what is interesting to me is you watch like
NCAA women's basketball, right, and so many of these kids
are just like pros at navigating the media space because
they have to do media constantly, right, basketball they have
to do media constantly, and so there is an analogy. Yeah,
there is such a different approach there like it's just
(19:19):
so uneven across all of the sports and so it
is really hard to know who needs to own this.
I think it ultimately does fall to leagues right to enable,
Like it has to start at the league level. It
probably has to happen at the clubs. But if you're
going to mandate players do media access, which they do right,
(19:40):
it's written into you've got to actually you've got to
sell them on why they need it to right, And
there definitely has to be a trust thing, right of
knowing what you need to share and win. But it
does come down to I think leagues to say, if
we want to build this leag we need players and
(20:01):
clubs to buy into that vision. And so much of
that comes down to media.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
You keep using the word trust, and I know you
are one of, if not the most trusted voice in
women's soccer in large part because you've been there. You've
been there for so long, You've been part of the
growth the fabric the players respect and love you. Talk
about what that means, how you maintain it, protect it,
and ultimately what you would share with aspiring or new
(20:26):
journalists coming in that haven't been there since the beginning
and are getting blocked or stiff armed from league's teams
or athletes who don't know them and might not trust them.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
I mean, I think part of it really is just
showing up, right, and that's hard sometimes, it's really hard.
When I had a full time job, trying to go
to training on a regular.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Basis was not the easiest task. And so.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
There really is the sense of, you know, does a
player see you on a regular basis?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Can they read and know?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Okay, like they might be critical at times, but it's
going to at least be kind of a fair criticism, right,
And I don't know, I think it would be really
hard to replicate, just because when I was showing up
to games, no one was really like it would be me,
Jeff Casue fright, like a handful of us. So there
really is this kind of built in thing. But now
that trust to some extent has carried over with the
(21:21):
next generation, but not entirely. Right, My relationship with older
players is very different than what it is with players
coming in, So you have to keep working at it, right,
It is a very constant process. But I do think
just also it is a really transactional business and being
able to step outside of that transactional relationship just when
(21:43):
you see players and not like trying to be friends
with them, but like being able to be like, listen,
I'm trying to do my job. You're trying to do
your job. Not everything's on the record, yeah, not everything
is not Like you can tell me stuff and it
will go on the vault and that's where it lives forever.
And you know that is really I mean, the biggest
(22:04):
story of my career is always going to be, you know,
the story around sexual assault and abuse in the end
of Yousell, And that was really the product of knowing
a player since twenty thirteen, right, like that's all it was,
and not knowing what was happening in real time, but
just kind of having built relationships and built trust over
(22:26):
a really long time.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
And that's not.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
I think you just have to like approach it where
sometimes the scoop is not worth it, right, like, it
just isn't. And I had a really longstanding personal rule
that fortunately I got to finally throw out because the
roster rules changed so drastically in the NWBSEL. But I
wouldn't report on player trades if the player didn't know
that they were being traded. And other people didn't have
(22:52):
that rule.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Talk about this next generation, what are you most excited
about on the field, and then tell me all of
your thoughts on the Emma Hayes takeover.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
It's just all these kids are so talented, right, Like
I mean, I go back to Olivia Moultrie having to
sue the NWSEL to play in the league, right, And
I think that's when mentally I was why did she
sue them just so that they was Yeah, So this
is before Olivia Moultrie turned eighteen, and before the NDWSEL
had a mechanism for players under eighteen playing in the league.
(23:24):
Now they're down to a fourteen year old playing at Gotham.
But Olivia Moultrie had basically foregone college and said, hey,
I want to turn pro in Portland, had been training
with the first team I think was fifteen sixteen at
the time, and the end of b CL's like, well,
we don't, we can't let you. You're not eighteen yet,
we don't have a mechanism for this. So she actually
sued the league and it was one of the most
(23:46):
fascinating stories I've ever had to report on. But that
is I think it just shows what this new generation
is willing to do in order to like follow their
path to be pro.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
How are you seeing all so the globalization interest from
the US side, I mean, besides the fact that Ted
Lasso is going to be coaching a women's team this
upcoming season. But what is your take? Obviously, I feel
like for so long in the US we've naval gays
where the best we've always been the best will continue
to be the best. I think if the twenty three
World Cup taught us anything, the world has absolutely caught up.
(24:21):
What are your thoughts on outbound and then inbound?
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I mean, that's why I think the ma hayes Hire
is really interesting, right because there's not going to be
that pressure for American players to stay in the NWSL,
And honestly, that's a good thing. Like the competition for
the NWSEL was long overdue and I think needs to
push the league forward and make it a better league.
So it shouldn't be that surprising that Naomi Germa right
(24:47):
is the first million dollar player to go overseas. She's
arguably the best defender in the world. We haven't seen
it yet in Chelsea because she's been hurt, but that
is going to I think like, does a Secretary of
Defense apply in the UN or is it a Minister
of Defense?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I need to understand what happens. No, right, what is
their title chance? Shoe? Yeah, so I do.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
I'm not as thrown by those conversations, right, Like, I
think it is really hard to compete with just the
appeal of Champions League for a lot of players. But
what we're seeing now, which I think is really interesting,
is coaches coming to the US, coming to the end
of USEL after they win Champions League a couple of times,
and they're like, Okay, what's next? What do I try
to exactly? And so that's that's where we're finally starting
(25:31):
to see this balance of players are going to want
the end of a cell championship, They're going to want
to win Champions League, and that's it's just going to
be a bigger global landscape and that's going to benefit everyone.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I think it's great for the game. I think it's
great for business. You know. The thing that I do
see playing out at least early indicators of is the
difference in where players go and why. You know, you
heard Ernie Romans say not that long ago that you
know she'd be remiss not to give herself an opportunity
to play in Europe. At the same token, I've talked
with some of the most elite players in the WSL,
(26:05):
some of the Lioness who play in different countries in
different leagues. They absolutely want to come to the NWSL.
Why because the commercial opportunities in the US are that
much greater, And so it is interesting, like will the
NWSL become the final third for many of those players
because a They're going to bring that cultural relevance with
them while they benefit from the upside of a hot
(26:27):
US commercial market. So it is interesting to see what
roles these leagues will play in the journey and development
of player careers. Talk to me about Meg Lenahan the
(26:49):
brand versus Meg Lenahan the reporter. Lenahan the brand doesn't exist.
I actually like I disagree and say Meg without the
Linahan all right, all right, I'll tak it.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
It is really because when I worked at the end
of so one of the reasons why I didn't want
to go to the Athletic at first was because I
was like, I'm behind the scenes here.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I don't have to be front and center.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Because when you're out here as a reporter there is
that sense of Okay, I have to be a brand.
I have to go out and sell myself. I have
to self promote, and I am not good at any
of that, and I would rather I would, but I
would much rather. That's why I think I'm so excited
by this new job, because I would rather be tinkering
in a back room looking at data, trying to figure
(27:33):
out how do we make the coverage better than maybe
being out, you know, front and center, doing a panelge
or like both of those. There's a part of me
that enjoys both. Don't get me wrong, but there is.
I think I get filled up by the work where
you get to kind of be out of sight and
then suddenly show up and be like, look how we're
improving things.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Look how we're doing something better.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
And so there has been I think a real challenge
of I mean like I've gone to nwsell ar US
games with coworkers and I walk around the concourse and
they're like, you are getting stopped.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
A lot Meglenahan. The brand had to exist for Meg Lenahan,
the executive, and the investment and the resources and the
support to come, because without I believe the forward facing,
hard charging like renegade that you've been. I think it's
difficult for people to pay attention and put the resources
in investment. So I think you give yourself some credit
(28:29):
there because I think without the work you did from facing,
I think women's soccer coverage would be in a much
different place. So I think I love both. But I
totally get what you're saying in terms of build. What
are you most excited about in this next cycle? As
we you know, we got the Euros coming up on
the heels of Brazil World Cup, and then LA twenty
eight and then thirty one. I mean, it's it's gonna
(28:49):
be a whirlwind. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
It just feels like there's always some major event that
we're staring down and being like okay, and like I'm
already kind of mentally going, okay, how we're doing twenty seven?
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Right? In? What do you think? I mean?
Speaker 1 (29:02):
I just honestly my dream story is just following Marta
around Brazil, being party captain through that whole world.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I'm just like, what is she going to be up to?
Speaker 1 (29:12):
I'm ready to find out, just like a documentary in
the making.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Yeah, let me follow her around.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I just want to see what party she manages to
get to start wherever she goes. But yeah, I mean
I think that those are just the momentum swings, right,
and so how do you build on each one? How
does the wave get higher on each one?
Speaker 2 (29:29):
How do you.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Sweep more people behind you with each one of those waves?
And Euros is big, but there's also Commonobal, there's also Africa, right,
And I think because we're seeing such international growth in
the end of Busell, there's real opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Of oh, you know, I'm on the bandawagon.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
That's fine, exactly, yeah, totally, And so there's there's that,
and then you think about, I mean this WNBA season
coming up, Like what I'm really excited too is to
to finally be able to dip in the sports. I'm
really excited for the Winter Olympics, right, Like athletes like
Mikhaela Schiffrin really only get that spotlight every couple of years,
(30:08):
and obviously she stands out from that pack, but how
do you do big storytelling around the Winter Olympics, Like,
you know, I'm a USA hockey slash Hillary Knight person
probably her last Olympics, so real storytelling opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I'm excited for the Meg Lenahan crossover. Hearing you talk
about all these other sports and athletes, I think it's great. Yeah,
And before I let you go, I guess you know,
you've just been in the thick of it for so long,
and obviously I know so much through the lens of editorial.
But as we're really trying to inform and educate the
advertising marketplace and now sitting on both sides of the desk,
what are advertisers missing? What are some of the things
(30:47):
you've learned over the course of this journey that you
think people just aren't either not that they're not getting it,
but they're not aware of or maybe don't know the
right questions to ask. That's a really good one.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I mean I do think that just knowing when you know,
I think about an athlete like Sophia Wilson, right, formerly
Sophia Smith, there is like I think about her, Nike
spots are some of the most fun Nike spots, but
you've got to have those live alongside real feature you know,
enterprise writing about her, and that's where I think that's
(31:22):
been missing, right, And I think as an advertiser, you
can't want to control those big feature you know, you
can't be like, oh, she sat down with someone because
of this sponsor. You have to just let that happen
and let the control of it go a little bit,
because it's only going to organically boost both the athlete,
your brand partnership with her, all of that. And so
(31:46):
I think it is just what I think I would
like to see, you know, when I get hit up
by advertisers who are like, hey, we partnered with this
athlete who's doing X, Y Z. We'd really like you
to cover it, And I'm like, I would also probably
like to cover it, but because you're pitching it to
me as this kind of sponsor content, I'm probably not
going to be able to because it's gonna people are
(32:06):
gonna read through it immediately. And so how do you
let go of that level of it and trust that
it will naturally benefit that partnership? Right, an authentic partnership
will break through for sure, exactly exactly. And so that's
that is my like little Oh, I'd really like to
get there, just like, trust me that I can get
you there.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
If I gave you a blank check at an extra hour,
what would you do with it at this point in time?
I mean blank check in an extra hour.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
It would honestly just be like how many people can
I hire with that blank check? Like true, That's what
it comes down to still is could I get someone
who knows volleyball in the door? Right? Like that's such
an up and coming sport? Could I get someone that knows?
Could I get an enterprise writer in or promote one
of our own right to like just listen.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
It's crazy how the fundamentals it's literally just like we
just need staff.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, I mean that's that's that's still what it is.
Just like you know, you think about the operations that
so many places just have, where you think about NFL
staffs compared to like all of the NFL compared to
every single woman's sport just absolutely dwarfs it.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
And so they argue that one woman completely did the
job for all of those people. But that's a different pot. No.
It is interesting how sometimes it just comes down to that,
which is resources, and those resources require investment. And we've
seen the power of when those things are on and
the foots on the guests just how much consumers will respond.
(33:35):
And I think talking about those tempole moments is a
total indicator when all eyes are on Australia. Not only
are they filling tens of thousands of people, I mean
what was the semi final final is like seventy eighty
thousand people?
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean just absolute crowds, right, And so
there is I mean again it like I don't want
to keep hammering the same point, but resources are so crucial,
and I think there are such big stories still waiting
to be told, right like if who do you want
to interview this year?
Speaker 2 (34:04):
What's your like? I got to get this person on
the mic.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
I don't know if i've I mean now that I
am in, you know, I can kind of. I do
feel like I'm probably gonna get sent to Indiana at
some point, right, the Caitlin Clark moment will probably happen.
But what I mean that to me is a challenge
though what story hasn't been told about her yet?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Right?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Because there has to be something there freely does and
so that is always I think a really fun challenge
of can you find a way in on an athlete
that just has walls and walls of coverage.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Which is also a great prompt for advertisers, by the way,
in terms of their partnership briefs. Yeah, it's a really
strong one. Who's winning the NWSL shield and who's winning
the championship this year? Who?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
I mean, we've got three real clear front runners right now.
Kansas City has looked very consistent. I do think Kansas
City might have the edge shield for championship. It does
feel always like a fool's air, I mean the Washington
spirit or my team coming in to watch, just because
I think there is real power in losing the championship
(35:13):
the year.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Oh yeah, you always got a chip, right.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Yeah, there's just something about, you know, losing and losing
in a really rough fashion, which I feel they feel
hard done by that championship.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
So I do.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I think, you know, Orlando is a great team, and
like you never want to rule out Orlando, and I
think they are getting fuel off of kind of already
being forgotten about. So it's one of those three teams
I think, no matter what. But I'll remind you of
this when I see you in October.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah. No, it's exciting, and Meg, just thank you for
all that you do and continue to do to drive
us forward. I mean, without your voice and your platform,
I don't think women's sports, let alone women's soccer is
anywhere near the level of visible end or level of
access without you, So thank you and for everybody listening.
If you don't all ready, make sure you subscribe to
(36:01):
full time. But are you gonna have to change that?
Or I guess full time applies for everything. Full time
now you might have to change the image though you've
got a soccer in there. Yeah, Meg Lenahan, you're one
of one. Thank you for joining me court Side and
I'll see you at a game soon. Yep, thank you.
I'm your host Laura Crenti, founder and CEO of Deep
(36:22):
Blue Sports and Entertainment. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz,
and this show is produced by Ryan Martz along with
associate producers Meredith Barnes and Rachel Zuckerman. Court Side is
an iHeart Women's sports production and partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Want more, follow, rate
(36:43):
and review court Side wherever you get your podcasts, and
stay in the game by following us on social media
at iHeart Women's Sports, and don't forget to subscribe to
our newsletter. In the show notes, thanks for listening. We'll
see you next time court side.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Look at me
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