I've had a recurring thought over the past year-ish: The #NWSL must reach new audiences to grow at true scale. It also can't ignore its current/longtime fans. That audience expansion creates inevitable tension. The catch is, the league needs both -- and the dilemma is not unique in sports or biz.

Today is the deadline to submit an abstract to present at NASSS 2026 in Calgary! conference.nasss.org/2026/papers/....

When I was asked to write something about the World Cup, I almost declined. As a scholar of women's football, what did I have to say about it? But I thought more, especially also about the Women's World Cup, and I'm proud of what I came up with: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/HZKUZ...

NEWS: The #NWSL and NWSLPA have joined Project ACL alongside England's WSL to deepen the study around the prevalence of ACL injuries in women's soccer. FIFPRO will lead and guide the study. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Left: How people think Mississippi votes Right: How Mississippi actually votes

Sport scholars, submit an abstract now for the 2026 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference in Calgary! Abstracts due by May 4th, 11:59 pm U.S. CST. Abstract Submission: conference.nasss.org/2026/papers/... *Note* The open sessions are listed under my name.

Incredibly brave. 👏👏👏

This looks to be an important documentary. www.kpbs.org/news/2026/03...

New article led by Adam Gemar, with @rachelallison.bsky.social and DSES' Prof. @staceypope.bsky.social on Gender Essentialism and U.S. Attitudes Towards the Media Coverage of Women’s Sport is now published in the Communication & Sport journal accessible here: journals.sagepub.com/toc/coma/14/2

So excited to organize the third lecture in the GT-UGA Soccer and Politics Lecture Series. After great lectures by @rachelallison.bsky.social & @brendaelsey.bsky.social , we will now have @abeissel.bsky.social speaking about FIFA, human rights, and the 2026 World Cup!

A new FIFA regulation rules that at least TWO staff members on the bench of every team at women's tournaments must be female—either in an assistant coach or head coach role 🚨 It will come into effect this year during the U17 & U20 Women's World Cup & Champions Cup competitions.

It's #NWSL Opening Day 2026! Gotham won the 2025 title only 111 days ago. The inaugural season in 2013 only went from April-August, followed by a 224-day gap (!) until the 2014 season. Portland Thorns at Washington Spirit (8 ET, Prime) opens the 2026 slate tonight.

The new #NWSL season is near, so new Ambition Rankings are here. Boston and Denver join the mix to make 16 teams, which can really be divided into two or three tiers at this stage. How is each team trending up or down? Great ambition does not always lead to strong implementation.

This isn't my newsletter's usual beat, but I had to write something jessica.substack.com/p/mens-hocke...

Sociologist C. Wright Mills saw this coming—and tried to warn us—60+ years ago. jacobin.com/2026/02/wrig...

I am excited to be in Houston for The World at Play: The Beautiful Game in 2026! ⚽ worldatplay.blogs.rice.edu

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life fighting for equity and justice. He taught us that even in the face of intimidation and discrimination, we must never stop working towards a better future – a lesson that feels especially relevant today.

Looking forward to this conversation!

Full panel here m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwwn...

"This promise of an AI future, is really just a collective anxiety that wealthy people have about how well they're gonna be able to control us in the future." - @tressiemcphd.bsky.social with an absolute mic drop moment about AI bullshit. Incredible words. Listen to all of it!

💰 FIFA released 2026 World Cup prize money amounts, which is relevant to the USWNT. Why? Because it and the USMNT agreed in their current CBA to share all their World Cup prize money:

Really proud of this new article! @rkossakowski.bsky.social and I argue for comparative frameworks for studying professionalization in women's soccer and present the cases of Poland and the U.S.: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

As the President-Elect of NASSS, I hope that you will join us in Calgary for the 2026 conference!

Enjoyed speaking with Sarah Crosbie about our recently published @jssisport.bsky.social research, using Nat'l Sports & Society Survey, about parental expectations for their children’s athletic achievements, on CONNECT with Sarah Crosbie on QR 770AM in Calgary! open.spotify.com/episode/0Rj6...

In a new analysis with Adam Gemar and Stacey Pope, we use recent survey data from adults in the UK and USA to consider who fans of women's sport are and which sport contexts they follow! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New research published today with Braden Leap! "Gender and Genre: A Comparative Analysis of Peloton Instructors’ Sexualized Genders in Exercise Classes Set to Country and Hip Hop Music" link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Hot off the press! ISSA-EASS 2026 Congress has a website and abstract submission opening soon. www.jyu.fi/en/events/re...

How can leagues report losses & still have big valuations? How is the WNBA ownership model affecting CBA negotiations? What are fair salaries for W players, and why is revenue share so important? Economics professor @wagesofwins.bsky.social breaks it all down. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

Yes! This article cites the wonderful scholar @rachelallison.bsky.social and speaks to the importance of all kids and the adults in their lives being fans of the W!

This is absolutely unconscionable and definitely worth your time reading it.

Still thinking about the Euros? (I know I am) Read this great piece from @staceypope.bsky.social on a recent article of ours on women footballers as 'role models!' www.durham.ac.uk/research/cur...

This is so fascinating and also so overdue.

From @theathleticfc.bsky.social: Sexist social media posts from the soccer legend Javier “Chicharito” Hernández received international blowback. “So, you want a man who will provide for you, but cleaning is patriarchal oppression? Interesting.” https://trib.al/l8xMnqG

“The 2021 policy is not in effect and has not been since Commissioner [Jessica] Berman was hired in March of 2022. The NWSL does not currently have a policy in this regard.” Why did the NWSL drop silently drop its Transgender athlete policy?

Special Issue: Call for Proposals We are excited to announce a new Special Issue in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues on post-qualitative inquiry!

In Seoul for the @issa1965.bsky.social conference! Looking forward to meeting lots of great scholars and hearing about new sport research.

Our new book is out today! We’re pleased to announce the release of our new edited book: Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Events, Issues, Controversies (Routledge).

The 2026 men’s World Cup kicks off one year from now, amidst an escalating crackdown on human rights in the US. Real risks to fans, journalists, residents and players. The militarised crushing of protest in LA is a warning. With @sportrightsall.bsky.social www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

The Journal of Sport & Social Issues is on BlueSky, sport studies friends!

As an Associate Editor for @jssisport.bsky.social, I’m having to make about 10-12 requests right now to get 2 reviews. It’s tough out here!

Mississippi’s average teacher salary is again lowest in country www.wlox.com/2025/05/20/m...

Today’s newsletter looks at the ways the recent trajectory of the New York Liberty mirrors the gentrification of Brooklyn itself, making the team increasingly inaccessible to longtime fans & existing community members—something that’s impacting teams across the WNBA.

My latest newsletter takes a deep dive into Alex Cooper and her continued affiliation with Barstool Sports, and why that makes a partnership with the NWSL especially ill-advised for a league attempting to re-brand after multiple sexual and workplace abuse scandals.

@nasssbsky.bsky.social Our decision to run a two site conference to avoid the U.S. border has made it into a biting comedy piece.

Calling all academics interested in sociology of leisure, tourism studies, leisure studies, or social psychology of leisure, please submit your papers to IJSL, published by Springer: link.springer.com/journal/41978

"[I] will not be travelling to the United States right now because it feels very dangerous to do so.” Academic organizations are changing their conference plans to deal with the threat of the US border. www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7531255

Really good look at the NWSL's mental health leave benefit, how it came to be, why it's important, and the first few players to use it by @theolloydhughes.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

We absolutely need to be talking more about the jawdropping environmental costs of AI. Read @leximcmenamin.com on how a single ChatGPT search can use a whopping 10 times the energy of a typical Google search www.teenvogue.com/story/chatgp...