Chelsea Clinton, Jenna Bush Hager Among Washington Spirit's Expanded Ownership Group
Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager have joined a group investing in the NWSL's Washington Spirit by buying ownership stakes in the club, the team announced on Wednesday.
Clinton, 40, and Hager, 39, have been friends since sharing their experiences as daughters of U.S. presidents. They join a group of investors that also includes Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes and former U.S. World Cup goalkeeper Briana Scurry.
Clinton is the daughter of President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Chelsea Clinton serves as a global health advocate and author, who recently released “She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game,” a children's book which highlights women in sports.
Bush Hager is currently a co-host on NBC’s Today and is the daughter of former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush.
Spirit managing partner Steve Baldwin, along with co-owners Bill Lynch and Y. Michele Kang, will still maintain most of the ownership stake.
“It is fitting that the Washington Spirit have an investor group commensurate with the dynamism and diversity of DC and its place as the most powerful city in the world,” Baldwin said in a statement. “As the 2021 season rapidly approaches, our fans will learn more about how this group came together, hear directly from new investors on their excitement to join us, and our plans for the future.”
According to The Athletic's Meg Linehan and Pablo Maurer, Baldwin had been looking for additional investors for the club and was looking to add impressive names to the Spirit's group. This has been a recent trend around the NWSL.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka has purchased a stake in the North Carolina Courage. Former Spurs star Tony Parker is part of OL Reign. Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden and boxer Oscar De La Hoya are among the owners of the Houston Dash. A new NWSL team in Kansas City, replacing the Utah Royals, includes Brittany Matthews, the fiancée of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Los Angeles' Angel City FC is perhaps the most star-studded individual ownership group in the league, featuring Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, Jennifer Garner, Lindsey Vonn, Billie Jean King, Eva Longoria, among other celebrities. Past USWNT stars like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach are also part of the team's ownership group.
The 2021 NWSL season will open with the month-long Challenge Cup on April 9 before the regular season gets fully underway in mid-May.
