LOS ANGELES — Two hours before Angel City FC’s 1-0 home loss to the Orlando Pride, JJ Keith was enjoying the sunshine and festive atmosphere with her family at Christmas Tree Lane East, a park that borders Banc of California Stadium. The grassy expanse was nearly full of mothers, fathers and children buzzing about the evening’s match, clad in their ACFC black, white and pink jerseys, hats and scarves.

JJ, a massive women’s soccer fan, and her husband bought season tickets for Angel City’s debut season in the NWSL as soon as they went on sale. She jokes that the game falling on Mother’s Day was her “trump card” to make her two children, ages 11 and 13, attend a game. Her 13-year-old daughter, Beatrix, whose pronouns are she/they, is not much of a soccer fan, but knows how important it was to their mother to be there Sunday.

“I played soccer for six years and then stopped because I got bored, and also COVID was a big deal,” Beatrix said. “And then my endurance died. I can’t even do the mile that well.”

JJ felt strongly that her kids, especially Beatrix, who attends a middle school magnet program in the San Fernando Valley, have the chance to witness an Angel City match at the Banc. The expansion club’s ownership group and front office staff, made up of majority women, have been vocal from the beginning about their intentions to advocate for inclusive values as well as women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.

“I wanted Beatrix here because they’re queer, and I wanted them to be in a space where there’s a lot of adult queer women,” JJ said. “Seeing queer families, like families with two moms for example, is something they don’t see a lot of. I just want them to be in those spaces and see that and have it modeled for them. We’re not the only type of family, and this isn’t the only way you can do things. And the players, too, not just the fans — to have out and proud athletes on the field, it’s so important. I love our queen, Christen (Press). I just wanted Beatrix to get that context of what adult gay women are doing and what that looks like.”

The Gunn Family of Eagle Rock were also enjoying the pregame festivities at Christmas Tree Lane East two hours before kickoff. After buying a bag of ACFC merchandise, and putting some of it right on, 6-year-old Maisie Gunn kicked a miniature soccer ball to her mom, Justine, as father Nathan gushed about the benefits of his daughter becoming interested in sports.

“The great thing about sports for girls is it takes them completely out of a world that can be not very supportive to little girls,” Nathan said. “All the women in sports are badasses. They’re all working toward the same thing and it’s inclusive of their talents, irrespective of society and whatever else.”

When asked why she wanted to be here on Mother’s Day, the exuberant Maisie, who lost a tooth playing soccer last week, said, “Because we wanted to do something that we thought Justine would like.”

Justine laughed and said, “She doesn’t usually call me that.”

The energetic kindergartner has recently started playing soccer, and her mother grew up playing recreationally, so the Gunns are excited to have a women’s team in their backyard to support.

The family also recently purchased season tickets for the Los Angeles Sparks, initially inspired by the team’s mobility around the Black Lives Matter movement.

“It’s a great city for women’s sports,” Justine said, “and we’re happy to have a girl who’s becoming a big fan. I want her to be involved in sports, because it’s a great place to build confidence and a lot of other important values.”

The family’s tickets are for Section 119, much to Maisie’s delight.

“I want to go to the tippy top!” Maisie exclaimed, before running no more than 10 feet away with her little ball and shouting, “I’m gonna go play soccer!”

Meanwhile, JJ, who says she is “very much a feminist and very much in favor of gay rights and trans rights,” spoke passionately about the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion last week in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Many women’s sports leagues, teams and athletes expressed their frustration with the news, which would dismiss the constitutional right to an abortion if confirmed.

“I’m f—ing furious about the Supreme Court changing on this and that they lied in their hearings,” JJ said. “I am beyond livid, just absolutely enraged and ready to mobilize. I personally never had an abortion, but the access to abortion completely changed my life. My husband’s ex-girlfriend was able to have an abortion, and so when we started our life together, there wasn’t this other kid. And I want my kids and their partners in the future to have access to that choice.”

“The fact that I was able to choose motherhood is very important to me,” JJ adds. “And I want my kids to be able to choose parenthood when or if — (JJ points at Beatrix) this one’s very against it — if they decide it’s for them. Being a mother is so hard. Everything is so difficult and stacked against mothers. To ask someone to do that against their will when it’s not what they want to or are able to do, is unfair to the mother, unfair to the family, unfair to any children she does have or will have. It’s just not right.”

JJ recognized how powerful it was for a professional sports team like Angel City FC to take a public stance on such a polarizing topic, even when, she said, women’s reproductive protections should be viewed as a basic human rights issue.

We stand together. pic.twitter.com/Sqqq1fOrdf

— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) May 5, 2022

“I am really glad to be a fan of a football team that will stand up for that right,” she said.

Beatrix said that access to contraception and abortion is something that they and their fellow seventh graders are aware of and discuss.

“Kids do talk about it,” Beatrix said, “especially the female students.”

Justine also saw ACFC’s statement against the Supreme Court opinion on Twitter and said that she’s proud to support a team committed to fighting injustice.

“I’m very proud of women’s sports teams in general, including the Sparks and Angel City, at how outspoken they’ve been in these years of really depressing news for women,” Justine said. “That’s so important and that is absolutely part of why we support them. I also feel a little genuinely sad that women athletes have to be saddled with the extra responsibility of being political when maybe they don’t want to be. It’s not fair, because it’s hard enough to be a pro athlete. I am glad that it’s not much of a debate anymore, that they can speak their minds and not face any problems because of it. … It should be just good enough that they’re awesome athletes, but that’s the way the world is, and I’m very proud to fully support them.”

Joshua Fischman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. He has covered basketball for Vantage Sports and Hoops Rumors and served as co-host of “On the NBA Beat” podcast. Joshua received his master’s in Sports Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @JJTheJuggernaut.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.