Back in 2020, a couple of guys named Jon and John got together and created the Athletes Unlimited organization. This organization was created to highlight female athletes specifically in the sports of basketball, softball, volleyball, and lacrosse. One of the key focuses of the league was to ensure that female athletes got paid a reasonable salary for participating in the sport they love.
For example, according to Wikipedia, Athletes Unlimited has zero team owners. Instead, athletes share in the profits and they are involved in all of the decisions that are made in the league. In an interesting change from the status quo, players are also not assigned (or signed) to one specific team. Instead, they switch teams each week through the season via a draft format.
At the end of the week, the top four players from the previous week become the captains for the coming week and form the new teams. At the end of the season, the champion isn't the best team, but the player who has accrued the most points over the course of the season.
Apparently, the lacrosse league is now out of commission, but the softball league has been getting a lot of airtime on some of the major networks lately. With hockey and basketball pretty much done, besides baseball and the UFL, the main focus of sports lately has been on the WNBA and some of these AUSL games. I've had a couple of nights this past week that I have flipped on the TV and started to watch a softball game.
It's exciting that opportunities like this are starting to pop up for young ladies in the world. I think it could be a good way for them to continue their love of the game past their university careers. Also, with the return of softball to the Olympic games, it could be a good way to put together a team that can bring home the gold medal.
It's hard to say what might happen at this point, but it would be cool if my niece were to find herself as part of the AUSL one day.
If you ever get a chance, I encourage you to check out an Athletes Unlimited Softball game. The ladies look like they are having a lot of fun and it's a good introduction to the sport if you have never watched a softball game before.
My Sports Account - @bozz.sports
