TIconic female athletes Ibtihaj Muhammad and Aja Wilson called for more U.S. investment in women's sports at Wednesday's TIME100 Summit.
“I want to see these big companies invest in women and invest in games,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad is an Olympic medalist in fencing, activist, and author, and Wilson is an Olympic gold medalist in basketball and a WNBA champion. The two spoke with sports podcast host Pablo Torre. Discovered by Pablo Torre, Days after basketball phenom Caitlin Clark was selected No. 1 in the WNBA Draft and will be paid $338,056 over the next four years, the low pay of female athletes came to the fore. .
But some female college athletes are doing much better than their predecessors financially after the NCAA banned college athletes from using their names, images and likenesses to make money. When asked how different her career would have been if she were still in college, Wilson was candid. “Obviously the bank account is the biggest difference, but she couldn’t get over the fact that she had an agent at the university,” she says.
Wilson also talked about not compromising her values and helping young black girls feel recognized when receiving money. “When it comes to big sponsorships…I think, well, you're going to get me, and I'm not going to change that because it needs to be seen,” she says. “Black women have a lot of power. When it comes to the WNBA, this is an organization that was essentially built with the support of Black women.”
They praised young athletes and urged them to be aware of the need to protect their mental health. “You have to protect your peace first. Your brand comes with it, but what really matters is your peace,” Wilson said.
Wilson also talked about the awkwardness of playing the Olympic and WNBA seasons so close together. “I can never stand you because you were my competition. Now I'm like, girl, let's go get this money… It's very hard to do that.” she says. “But when you get to that stage, you realize how elite the athletes are.
Muhammad recalled that before participating in the Olympics, he asked many questions about politics rather than sports. She hopes Team Her USA can be better prepared for that moment. “It was very stressful because I wanted to do well for my country and I wanted to compete well. But at the same time, I wanted to represent the community that I'm a part of to the best of my ability. Mohamed says he looks to boxer Muhammad Ali for inspiration when it comes to his values. “Muhammad Ali has always been central to my view of the platform,” she said.
Wilson also called on fans to show appreciation for female athletes. “Buy that jersey. Go to that game, bring others, put your money where your mouth is and invest in these women,” she said. Muhammad agrees. She is a longtime fan who grew up watching women's basketball. Her parents took her to see New York Liberty perform at Madison Square Garden. (She's from New Jersey.) “I've been invested since I was young,” she says.
The TIME100 Summit brings together leaders from the global TIME100 community to focus on solutions and encourage action for a better world. This year's summit will feature a variety of speakers from a variety of fields including politics, business, health and science, and culture.
Speakers at the 2024 TIME 100 Summit include actor Elliot Page, designers Tory Burch, Muhammad Wilson, author Margaret Atwood, NYSE President Lynn Martin, and comedians Alex Edelman and Yoshua Bengio. Professor, 68th Secretary of State John Kerry, actor Jane Fonda, and more. more.
The TIME100 Summit was organized by Booking.com, Citi, Merck, Northern Data Group, Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whiskey and Verizon.
