Alana Beard, a four-time WNBA All-Star, is set to lead a group of investors trying to bring a WNBA expansion team to Oakland.

She is partnering with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, who issued the news on Wednesday.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity and excited to help bring a WNBA team to Oakland,” Beard said in a release. “The AASEG has done an incredible job of getting us to this point and has garnered tremendous support from influencers in the local community. I am hopeful our vision, passion and collective efforts will lead to the return of professional basketball to Oakland.”

A 15-year WNBA veteran, Beard last played with the Los Angeles Sparks, with whom she won a WNBA title in 2016. She announced her retirement in 2020.

Additionally, attorney Jada Smith-Williams and her law firm Bailey & Glasser, LLP, will run counsel and advise the group in their ownership pursuit.

The move comes following a July announcement in which the Board of Authority in Oakland voted unanimously to move forward with the process of a lease for Oakland Arena.

According to the release, Beard and the AASEG are in discussions with other prominent African Americans to join the process.

Additionally, the group has already written a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and COO Christy Hedgpeth. In the letter, they highlighted the progress they have achieved, including the vote on allowing the team to play in Oakland Arena.

WNBA superstar A'ja Wilson debuted her first-ever Nike signature shoe on Tuesday, with the sneakers scheduled to hit shelves in May 2025.

The first iteration of her "A'One" sneaker comes in "Pink A'ura," with more colorways planned for the future.

"My signature shoe is everything I need, engineered for my game and my style — and built to motivate the next generation to go big," Wilson said in Tuesday's release.

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Designed for Wilson, plus basketball's next generation

"From the beginning, we designed the shoe to both accentuate my game and to provide young hoopers a tool to help them push their limits," explained the three-time WNBA MVP.

After a two-year development process, the A'One boasts foam to cushion landings, plus traction details to enable precise lateral movements on the court.

"The A’One is meant to go the distance, taking control from the jump and dominating the floor on every play," Wilson says.

The shoe also showcases details personal to Wilson, including the Celtic symbols for "mother" and "father" to honor her parents. There is also a pearl motif in reference to the necklace Wilson received from her grandmother, who also contributed a favorite saying to the outsole: "As a matter of fact, the best is yet to come."

Additionally, one of Wilson's own quotes is splashed across the heel: "Weakness, weakness. We don’t have time for that."

Along with her signature shoe, Wilson is releasing an eight-piece apparel collection that includes foam slides, T-shirts, shorts, and cropped tops.

In true Wilson fashion, the collection's highlight is her single-legged A'Symmetric compression tight, a nod to the Las Vegas star's on-court uniform.

Wilson joins star-studded roster of signature shoe athletes

When her sneakers drop in May, Wilson will become the 14th WNBA athlete across all brands to receive her own signature shoe.

The 28-year-old will join current stars like Breanna Stewart, Elena Delle Donne, and Sabrina Ionescu in the footwear department. Other iconic sneaker creators have included retired legends Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, and Wilson's former college coach, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley.

Wilson initially signed with Nike as a rookie in 2018 before becoming one of the sportswear giant's signature athletes in May 2024, when the brand doubled down on their investment in women's basketball.

How to purchase A'ja Wilson's signature Nike shoe

Wilson's A’One sneaker and apparel collection will be available directly from Nike, with purchase options both online and at select retail locations starting in May 2025.

The NWSL agreed to a major settlement with the attorneys general of New York, Illinois, and Washington, DC, on Wednesday, capping a two-year investigation into the abuse allegations outlined in the 2022 Yates Report.

The NWSL must now create a $5 million restitution fund to compensate athletes who experienced abuse. The league is also required to continue implementing comprehensive player safety reforms.

"For too long, the hardworking and talented women of the National Women's Soccer League were forced to endure an unacceptable culture of abuse, harassment, and retaliation," said New York Attorney General Letitia James. "This settlement sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated and ensures players receive the compensation and protections they deserve."

Years of investigation led up to the NWSL settlement

Whistleblowers initially exposed a culture of harassment and sexual misconduct within multiple NWSL teams in 2021. As a result, US Soccer's subsequent Yates Report suggested extensive reforms were needed at both the league and club level.

In the fallout surrounding that 2022 report, the attorneys general initiated their own joint investigation. They ultimately found credible allegations, as well as a culture of abuse, neglect, and retaliation against athletes who spoke up.

This "widespread violations of players' fundamental rights" prompted the attorneys general to award the restitution. They also codified reforms that grant them oversight and enforcement rights, ensuring league protocols are followed and players are protected.

Terms of the NWSL misconduct settlement

In addition to the restitution fund, the attorneys general are requiring league-wide policy changes. These include hiring a league-wide safety officer and increased rigor in vetting team staff. Teams must also add HR staff and at least one mental health professional, and create multiple avenues of reporting misconduct.

Clubs must now conduct anonymous athlete surveys into team culture and coach conduct each year, the results of which will be shared with the attorneys general.

Additionally, for the next three years, the NWSL must submit biannual reports detailing their progress in implementing these terms. The reports must also overtly flag any complaints of alleged misconduct.

Should it default on any of the settlement's terms, the league will face $2 million in penalties.

"Accountability is not a one-time event — it is an ongoing commitment that never ends," said NWSL Players Association director Meghann Burke about the settlement. "The NWSLPA will continue to ensure that this league never again prioritizes silence over safety.”

The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) this week in Washington, DC

Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, the organization held the first NGWSD 39 years ago. To "amplify the monumental moments being seen across women's sports," the WSL arranged local programming honoring the February 5th event.

This year's edition kicked off yesterday with a youth sports clinic led by the WNBA's Washington Mystics and AU student-athletes. Other activations included a panel discussion and workshops.

"For 50 years and counting, the Women's Sports Foundation's vast research has continued to prove that a powerful way to positively impact society's future is by investing in girls' and women's sports," said WSF CEO Danette Leighton.

"This National Girls & Women in Sports Day, we are back in the nation's capital to both celebrate the momentum throughout the women's sports ecosystem and to ensure progress continues, so that all girls and women have a chance to play and reap the lifelong benefits of sport."

WSF spends National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Capitol Hill

Today, WSF leadership, athletes, coaches, and industry pros met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. They discussed the issues impacting women's sports athletes, proposed legislation to level the playing field, and the economic benefits of sports equity.

Participants across the week's events include: WSF president and Paralympian Scout Bassett; WNBA legend and Mystics Hall of Famer Alana Beard; Women's College World Series champion Rachel Garcia; Hall of Fame NCAA women's basketball head coach  Muffet McGraw; and two-time NWSL champion Mana Shim, among others. 

"As a Paralympian, I know more must be done to get additional girls and women in the game and advocate for policies that bolster inclusion and eliminate barriers, especially for those with disabilities," said Bassett. "It is my hope that National Girls & Women in Sports Day encourages positive conversations that will lead to lasting change so all girls and women can play, compete and lead — in sports and beyond." 

Promoting inclusion for all women's sports athletes

WSF sets itself apart from recent political initiatives focused on prohibiting trans athletes from participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity. Instead, the foundation outspokenly advocates for the inclusion of trans and intersex women's sports athletes.

Accordingly, in a 2016 position statement, the foundation said that it "supports the right of all athletes, including transgender athletes, to participate in athletic competition that is fair, equitable, and respectful to all." 

The WSF doubled down in 2022. They subsequently penned a letter to the NCAA imploring them to revise their exclusionary Transgender Athlete Participation Policy. 

25 additional organizations endorsed the pro-inclusion letter. Together, they echoed the WSF motto "All girls. All women. All sports."

Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr is taking the stand this week, as her trial for allegedly verbally abusing a white London police officer got underway on Monday.

The Australia national team captain pleaded not guilty to one count of racially aggravated harassment before testifying on Wednesday.

While the celebrated striker did not deny calling PC Stephen Lovell "stupid and white" as documented by the officer's body camera, Kerr's legal team is arguing that both the specific incident and "the law is a little more nuanced, a little more human than that."

Kerr describes "terrifying" cab ride at trial

The incident in question occurred in January 2023, when Kerr and her fiancée, USWNT and West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, experienced a concerning late-night taxi ride.

Kerr testified that she leaned out of an open window after beginning to feel sick during the the ride. She alleges that the driver then rolled up the window and proceeded to "drive dangerously," including "swerving in and out of lanes."

The erratic driving allegedly lasted 15 to 20 minutes. Kerr also told the jury that the driver refused to stop or unlock the doors and windows.

"I was terrified for my life," the 31-year-old testified. "We were not in control... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving but also because he could have taken us anywhere. He couldn’t be tracked so no one knew where we were."

Mewis eventually "kicked out [the window] with her boot" in an attempt to escape what they thought was a kidnapping. As a result, the driver delivered the pair to the police station.

Perceived lack of help sparked comment from Kerr

At the police station, the couple told officers about their experience. Kerr says she felt that the police did not believe them, prompting the heated exchange.

"The words were a comment, we say — however poorly expressed — about positions of power, about privilege and about how those things might color perception," Kerr's lawyer Grace Forbes argued.

"I expressed myself poorly in that moment. What I was trying to get across was I felt that they were treating me differently and not believing me and treating me as a person that had done something wrong," Kerr elaborated.

"They were in a position of privilege and power. I believed they were treating me specifically differently because of the color of my skin."

Notably, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) originally decided not to charge Kerr. They had determined that the only outcome of a prosecution would be a simply apology from the soccer star.

While PC Lovell's initial statement made no mention of Kerr's comments having any impact on him, he submitted a second statement in the wake of CPS's decision to not prosecute, later claiming the footballer's words had been harassing.

CPS authorized the charge in December 2023, nearly a year after the incident occurred.