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Lichtman: Why I’m proud to be playing professional volleyball in Texas

Cassidy Lichtman chairs the AU Volleyball Player Executive Committee. (Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited)

A year ago, I spent seven weeks in Dallas playing in Athletes Unlimited’s new professional women’s volleyball league, the first such league to exist in this country in over thirty years. After spending five years playing in professional leagues overseas and for the U.S. National Team, I could not have been more excited to finally have the opportunity to play professionally on American soil. We were well into planning a return to Fair Park for season two when the Texas legislative session ended in September.

We are a league made up of women, including many women of color, with a commitment to civic leadership and advancing racial equity where possible in the course of our business. AU has already supported initiatives or instituted internal policies around voting, transgender inclusion in sport and a woman’s right to make decisions about her own life and body. Many of the laws passed after our season ended fly in the face of everything we represent and made us reconsider whether Texas was the right home for our upcoming season.

I chair the Player Executive Committee, a group of five of our athletes who work closely with the AU leadership to make all decisions regarding our league. We do not speak for all of our athletes on all topics, but we do make many decisions on their behalf. In September, though we had hotels booked and many plans in place, with our hearts heavy over what was happening in Texas, we strongly considered pulling out of Dallas and finding a different venue.

The first thing we did was to connect with local advocacy groups to get their perspective on the benefits of a boycott in comparison to the ways we could help if we were on the ground. Those groups encouraged us to stay and we decided that our greatest contribution would be to use the platform we had while we were here and support the businesses and people of Dallas in ways that we could not had we left.

That being said, for me personally, it was not an easy decision. Part of me wanted to turn my back on Texas like it turned its back on so much of what I believe in, like it turned its back on people who look a lot like me and my teammates. But that’s not how our country should work. The laws in Texas might not affect us when we are outside of its borders, but they will still affect the people within them. And as we’ve seen in the past few months, the movements behind these laws are not constrained by state borders anyway. Similar legislation has been passed throughout the country and is being defended in front of the Supreme Court. We cannot simply look away as our neighbors’ rights are stripped from them just because they have not yet come to our door to take our own.

I took a moment, therefore, to think about some of our neighbors in Dallas — the child who can’t play the game we love because their gender does not match the one on their birth certificate; the girl who is not ready to be a mother, and the healthcare worker who gets death threats for trying to help her; the teacher who is afraid to even mention race in their classroom; the people who fight every day to ensure that every person is afforded their constitutional right to vote. Though we may be angry and tired and scared, I know there are people in Dallas who are as well, and they are right in the middle of this whether or not they asked for it. When I think about those people, it makes me want to go stand in the middle of it with them, not leave them on their own.

Our PEC, in collaboration with AU, ended up deciding that we’re coming to Dallas, and walking into the current epicenter of a fight that has spanned generations. We will celebrate our women along with the ones who came before us, support businesses owned by women and people of color, and encourage civic engagement and voter registration. And we’ll play some really great volleyball, because that’s part of the work as well.

Gloria Steinem said that “Women’s sports are one of the few places where women learn that our bodies are instruments, not ornaments.” In some ways, just stepping on the court as a female athlete still feels like a revolutionary act. We have 44 amazing women, of all different backgrounds, colors and sizes, who have incredible control over their instruments, and I can promise you it is worth a visit to Fair Park this spring to see it.

Cassidy Lichtman is an outside hitter for Athletes Unlimited, Chair of the AU Volleyball Player Executive Committee and the founder of P/ATH, a non-profit that focuses on using sports as as vehicle to teach skills around empathy, equity and empowerment. Follow her on Twitter @CassidyLichtman.

Top Tennis Stars Crash Out of Wimbledon in the First Round

US tennis star Coco Gauff reacts to her 2025 Wimbledon first-round loss to Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.
World No. 2 Coco Gauff fell to Ukraine's unseeded Dayana Yastremska in the first round of 2025 Wimbledon on Tuesday. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.

A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.

"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.

Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.

"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."

The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.

No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships

Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.

Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.

USWNT Faces Rivals Canada in Final Summer Friendly

USWNT players Alyssa Thompson and Sam Meza eye the ball during a June 2025 training camp.
The USWNT will face Canada in their final summer friendly on Wednesday. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT will close out their summer international break against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, facing North American rival No. 8 Canada for the first time this year.

"It's never friendly, you know? It's always like a final," US midfielder Sam Coffey told media earlier this week. "We all know each other super well."

"I'm really excited to be a part of it again for our younger, newer players," she continued. "I think it's going to be a huge learning opportunity on what representing this crest means."

The Northern neighbors are the USWNT's most frequent opponent, with the US entering the pair's 67th meeting with a 53-4-9 all-time record against Canada.

Wednesday's matchup will also mark Canada's first US clash under new head coach Casey Stoney, who joined the team in January following her abrupt June 2024 dismissal by the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC.

As for US boss Emma Hayes, she'll be looking for yet another refreshed set of starters on Wednesday after swapping out all 11 players between the team's two friendlies against Ireland last week.

"It's a testament to players and staff alike that we can rotate to different groups like we did last game, and everybody's understanding [the tactics] to varying degrees," Hayes said on Tuesday.

With months to go before the next USWNT camp in October, Wednesday's showdown serves as the last chance for bubble players to prove their worth, all while the team aims to cap the summer window with a big win over their longtime rivals.

How to watch the USWNT vs. Canada on Wednesday

The USWNT will cap their three-friendly summer break against Canada at 7:30 PM ET in Washington, DC.

Live coverage of the clash will air on TNT.

Indiana Upsets Minnesota, Wins WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Without Clark

The Indiana Fever celebrate and lift the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup trophy.
The Indiana Fever upset the Minnesota Lynx to win the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Indiana Fever lifted their first trophy since 2012 on Tuesday night, winning the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup with a 74-59 upset victory over reigning Cup champs Minnesota — all while injured star guard Caitlin Clark watched from the sidelines.

To snag the win, Indiana leaned on balanced scoring, with forward Natasha Howard's 16-point, 12-rebound double-double leading the Fever's five double-digit shooters.

At the same time, the Fever employed a shutdown defense, limiting the Lynx to their lowest point total of the season.

Beyond the $500,000 payout, Tuesday's win gives the 8-8 Fever a momentum boost as the team continues contending with both high-profile departures and the limited availability of their floor general.

"We have a resilient group, you know?" Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the game. "They're tough, mentally and physically, they pull for one another. I'm just really proud."

"It felt good to get a win under gut-check circumstances," echoed guard Kelsey Mitchell. "To have so much going on and still stay consistently for each other, it was beautiful. It felt really amazing."

As for the league-leading Lynx, the Commissioner's Cup loss won't impact Minnesota's regular-season WNBA standings — and they’ll hope to build on the learnings from last night's ego blow.

Minnesota also has a bit of history one their side, as the last two Commissioner's Cup runners-up went on to win the WNBA Championship in the same year.

"We have to take this game to heart and learn from the mistakes we made, the way we showed up, the way we prepared, and make sure we don't do it again," said Lynx center Alanna Smith.

How to watch the Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx this week

Neither 2025 Commissioner's Cup contender will have much time to reflect on Tuesday's game, as both Indiana and Minnesota will dive back into regular-season WNBA play on Thursday.

The Fever will host the Las Vegas Aces at 7 PM ET, airing on Prime, before the Washington Mystics visit the Lynx at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Indiana Fever Guard Sophie Cunningham Sounds Off on WNBA Expansion

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham speaks to reporters before the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed concern about the new WNBA expansion cities. (David Dow /NBAE via Getty Images)

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham turned heads on Tuesday, criticizing the latest WNBA expansion plans in light of ongoing WNBPA CBA negotiations.

Cunningham drew ire from some fans after expressing skepticism about the WNBA awarding expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland over other possible cities, while also suggesting that the league might be growing too quickly.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" she told reporters ahead of Indiana's Commissioner's Cup win. "I'm not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you're not expanding our league too fast."

"It's kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

Elsewhere, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally also voiced her expansion concerns on Tuesday, calling on the WNBA to keep player support at the forefront when adding expansion teams.

"We really have to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now," she told reporters. "Maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment in their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can't really be sustained."

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