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(Photo: UCI/La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es)
2. A quick primer on the WNBA season starting this week 🏀
The WNBA season starts this Friday and with viewership numbers skyrocketing, a new expansion team in San Francisco, and players who are household names, excitement is high 💫
🚨 REMINDER: Paige Bueckers, the #1 WNBA draft pick, will make just $78,831 in her first year contract 🚨
Games to watch
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Friday @ 7:30 p.m. ET: Minnesota Lynx v. Dallas Wings - See #1 draft pick Paige Bueckers in her first W game, go up against last year's runner-up
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Saturday @ 1 p.m. ET : Vegas Aces v. New York Liberty - The two powerhouse teams face-off with last year's champions (the Liberty) v. Aj'a Wilson and the 2x champs (the Aces)
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Saturday @ 3 p.m. ET: Chicago Sky v. Indiana Fever - Angel Reese v. Caitlin Clark in the first weekend (!) and the Fever have championship goals this year
Who could win the title?
Last year, the New York Liberty — and mascot icon Ellie 🐘 — finally won their title and brought a championship (in any sport!) back to New York for the first time in nearly 50 years.
But, betting odds have the Vegas Aces (who were mired in controversy last year) and the Indiana Fever close behind.
READ: Could the New York Liberty be the first $1 billion women's sports team?
3. Why can't the Center for SafeSport effectively protect athletes?
Ju’Riese Colón, the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s CEO, was fired last month after it came to light that the center had hired an investigator who was later charged with rape and sex trafficking. It was also revealed that the center hired him knowing he was under investigation.
This comes after years of the center struggling with delays and adequate investigations of abuse complaints. Athletes are losing faith.
What is the Center for SafeSport? 💜
In 2017, in the wake of the Larry Nassar case and evidence that USA Gymnastics failed to protect its athletes, the Center for SafeSport was created. It was mandated by Congress to investigate claims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse within the Olympic and Paralympic movement. It has a roughly $20 million budget, funded by the governing bodies of the sports it oversees.
But it has struggled to fulfill its mission…
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The center says it gets 150 reports of abuse every week 🤯
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Many of those ultimately fall outside its jurisdiction — which only oversees Olympic & Paralympic sports and their grassroots feeder systems
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That mandate still covers nearly 11 million athletes 👧
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There were fewer than three dozen full-time investigators
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Investigations could take days or years to reach a resolution ⌛
Colón had been hired to help fix this system. Instead, some victims now feel retraumatized and Congress has started an inquiry.
ALSO: The NWSL ⚽ has also modified its reporting system for athletes, after an investigation found it caused misreporting and confusion
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