GladiatHers® Blog

On Thursday over 60 women in the sports industry gathered to connect with and learn from one another in Atlanta, GA. The atmosphere was electric as women committed to growing their reach and influence in sports took steps to broaden their networks. Following registration, food and drinks, attendees listened to a panel of expert women in sports discuss their journeys in the industry. The panel consisted of Caren Cook, Assistant General Counsel for the Atlanta Hawks; Jessica Co

Today we’re merging two of our classic features, GladiatHer® Wives and GladiatHer® Crush Wednesday, to introduce you to one outstanding woman. She’s a dedicated wife and mother, an entrepreneur and philanthropist and can make a party turn 0 to 100, real quick. To top that all off, she’s a proud graduate of the Real HU. Meet New Jersey’s own, Samantha Romantini Bethea aka DJ Spinvixen… Tell our readers a little bit about yourself. My name is Samantha, I am from Sicklerville, N

It’s not everyday that you meet women who change your life. I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to do just that. Sydney Satchell has gone from being a Division-I athlete to an amputee and an inspiration for so many in a relatively short amount of time. She has found the strength, courage and wisdom to turn her adversity into life lessons for so many. I’m honored to share this GladiatHer® Grads story with you. Where’d you go to school and what sport did you play? I went to

If you read this blog with any sort of regularity, and by now you definitely should be, you know that I played sports for practically my entire childhood and until I graduated from college. I played tennis through college, ran track until I got to college and played soccer up until I got to high school. Last week, Megan Rapinoe, women from the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury and other women in sports took knees during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustices in t

Sigh. Hope Solo. Instead of talking about what a great goalie and representative of women’s sports she is, we’ve spent the majority of August talking about what a poor sport she is. She’s seriously been a public relations nightmare and I can only imagine that her management team is in full-on crisis management mode right now. Lately, she’s let her lack of sportsmanship, thoughtfulness and maturity be on display for the world to see. And watching it all play out from the comfo

The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta were huge for Team USA’s women.  That’s why we’re getting another Olympic Flashback from that year, and it’s courtesy of the US Women’s National Soccer Team. In 1991 the International Olympic Committee ruled that women’s soccer would be included in the games for the first time in 1996.  The inaugural tournament included eight teams: the USA, China, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Brazil, Japan and Germany.  Team USA was stacked with legends like Brandi C

Yesterday the sports world was set abuzz when it was announced that members of the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the US Soccer Federation (USSF). Based in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), the complaint states that the USSF has discriminated against the USWNT by paying its athletes less than it pays the athletes for the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) despite the USWNT earning considerable more in

With all the talk about the movie Concussion, CTE, the NFL and head trauma, I thought it would be fitting for our first Flashback Friday to be to GladiatHer.com’s first ever post, Changing as it Grows: Improving Girls’ Soccer.  Many are still unaware that after football, girls’ soccer reports the highest number of concussions in youth sports, so it’s the perfect to bring awareness to the issue and help improve the lives of girls who love soccer.  As usual, read, enjoy, commen

It’s hard to pick one word to describe women’s sports in 2015.  This year has been filled with excitement, disappoint and progress.  In 2015 women continued to take sports by storm as athletes, coaches, officials, journalists, administrators, doctors and in every other way imaginable.  They set records, caused controversy and told their own stories on their own storms.  2015 has indeed been a memorable year.  So today let’s take a look back on what a great year it’s been in w

Could there be any doubt about who GladiatHer’s #WCW is?  Her career with the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) has spanned over 14 years.  When she officially retires on December 16, 2015, she will end her career having scored the most international goals, ever…man or woman.  Her 184 international goals (77 of which were headers), four trips to the Women’s World Cup, 2 Olympic gold medals, and FIFA Women’s Player of the Year honors make her one of the greatest soccer pl

She got cut from her first club soccer when she was 13. Then she went on to be named an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. She tore her ACL at 17. Then she went on to become the 3rd All-Time scorer at Berkley and the first pick of the Women’s Professional Soccer league. She tasted defeat in the 2011 FIFA’s Women’s World Cup at the hands of Japan and found out the WPS folded. Then in 2012 she led the U.S. in goals, assists and points and he

#MotivationMonday #fifa #womeninsport #Mia #PrettyTough #fifawwc #Hamm #MiaHamm #Pretty365 #Legends #womeninsports #thisgirlcan #gladiathers #soccer #mondaymotivation #prettyperiod #PrettyTough

Another year is among us which means it’s time to witness some awe-striking feats from GladiatHers in every sport.  I’m excited to see what female athletes are able to accomplish in the year 2015 A.D.  As you watch on your television screens and from the seats in stadiums and arenas across the country, I thought that it would be a good idea to give you a short list of who you might want to pay particular attention to.  Clearly, this list is in no way exhaustive.  Records will

This week’s GladiatHer to Watch was just selected as the first overall pick in the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2014 College Draft.  The Washington Spirit, selected former UNC standout, Crystal Dunn.  The midfielder is a three-time ACC player of the year (twice defensive, once offensive) and the winner of the Hermann Trophy in her junior year.  Her eight goals helped lead the USA to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title in 2012.  Dunn’s proven prowess on the soccer field and her

It’s Monday Jan 6, 2014, and here’s what you missed over the weekend… Tennis.  Serena won the title in the Brisbane International.  Li Na won the Shenzhen Open.  Ana Ivanovic won the ASB Classic. Chiney Ogwumike became the Pac-12 all-time leading rebounder in Stanford’s win over Oregon.  Ogwumike has 1,271 rebounds.  She. Gets. Boards. Randy Waldrum who has lead Notre Dame’s soccer team to two NCAA Championships announced that he would be leaving the program to coach the Nati

Last week, I published the first of part of this two-part series on the utility of women’s sports programs in college.  In part I, I reached the conclusion that, for the institutions, the value in women’s sports, in the form of institutional morale, diversity and scholarship, significantly outweighed the financial costs necessary to fund those programs.  Therefore maintaining those programs was worth it.  As I mentioned, however, the institutions are only half of the equation

On October 23, 1964, at the summer Olympics in Japan, the Japanese women’s volleyball team won the gold medal topping Russia.  It was at the 1964 Olympic games that women’s volleyball made its Olympic debut.  Women have been spiking their way through the Olympics ever since! *Note the picture above is NOT an image of the 1964 Japanese team 😉 #women #history #Japan #olympics #Russia #daily #soccer #volleyball