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Aleshia Ocasio on Being an Athlete and Advocate

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – JUNE 02: Florida State University (8) third baseman Aleshia Ocasio after making a play on a foul ball versus Louisiana State University during the 2017 Division I Women’s College World Series on June 02, 2017, at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Aleshia Ocasio is a professional softball player for Athletes Unlimited, a new, player-focused pro league coming to the Chicago metro area this August. A graduate of the University of Florida, Ocasio helped lead the Gators to the 2015 WCWS Championship. Below, she spoke with Just Women’s Sports about what it means to her to be a LGBTQ athlete, why she signed on with Athletes Unlimited, and the importance of using her platform to push for social change.

What does it mean to you to be openly part of the LGBTQ community in sports?

I think for anybody it is important to stay true to yourself, and understand that you are unique, and that what’s normal in other people’s eyes is not necessarily always the case. I feel like, more now than ever, people are normalizing being in the LGBTQ community because you look at history and you look at how it was taboo to even speak about being gay, lesbian, bisexual. So I’m openly bisexual and I’m proud to be in the community and to be playing a sport that is so open. There’s a lot of representation in the game of softball as far as LGBTQ. I’m happy to be part of a sport that is open arms.

Do you think that being an athlete helped give you the confidence to come out and to be true to yourself?

I don’t necessarily think so. I have a great support system. Before anybody knew, I told my parents, and that was it. They were so open. They were like, I love you. I don’t care who you love. And I think that gave me the confidence to kind of be more open to living in my own truth. When you have a support system that welcomes you with open arms and unconditional love, I think that lays the foundation for you being comfortable with who you are.

How do you think attitudes towards LGBTQ athletes have changed during your lifetime?

So I came out openly in college and I don’t necessarily remember anybody talking about being gay, being lesbian, as necessarily a bad thing. And I’ve known plenty of people that have been in the community growing up as well. It’s never been something that was frowned upon. I just feel like I found myself growing up and figuring out who I was and what I liked and what drives me. So I feel, like I said, in softball, there’s a wide community of LGBTQ athletes, and I’m just happy to be in a place that has open arms.

In a recent Athletes Unlimited video, you talked a lot about how there’s a wide representation of LGBTQ athletes in softball but how there’s also a lot of stereotypes. Can you speak to that? 

I think that growing up, you look at softball, you look at basketball, and you automatically think, well, they’re gay. Like that’s the stereotype, no matter what you look like or even if you are straight. Cool, but, you know, there’s always a stereotype there. Even in high school, I remember people coming up to me, “You play softball, so you must be gay.” And at that time, I wasn’t fully aware of who I was. So I’m like, you know, whatever. I never really fought against it. I was just like, “You know what? You think what you think.” I know that there is a wide representation of both straight and LGBTQ women in the sport. And I hope that people are open to understanding that not only in softball are there LGBTQ representations, but in every sport, whether you know it or you don’t.

I do see in the world that it’s becoming more accepted. As I grow older, I realize that. I feel like people are starting to understand that every sport, including softball, has large representations of both straight and LGBTQ athletes. So I don’t necessarily see the stereotyping as often as I used to. But like I said, in high school people would tell me I play softball, so I have to be gay.

How inclusive do you feel like softball is as a whole? What can it do to improve?

When I think of softball and inclusion, I automatically think how much equipment is needed in order to even play the game. So my head automatically goes to adolescent kids who don’t necessarily have the means to buy these loads of equipment. We have the opportunity to play it, but some lower income areas don’t necessarily have the funds in order to provide the equipment to play the game. I’ve had talks with multiple people throughout the past couple of weeks about diversity and inclusion. And I think it starts with our youth. I think we have to give them the opportunity to play these team sports that require so much equipment.

You look at softball and you see your one or two black players on a softball team. I hear people talk about it all the time, the tokens on the team. We have to be above average to be considered average on a team full of our white counterparts. We’re stereotyped in our own community. We’re on a team and we’re looked at as the fastest. And some of these stereotypes aren’t necessarily negative, because a lot of times we are the fastest, but we’re put into a bubble of what we have to be because of the color of our skin. You see that a lot. I saw that a lot. I’ve heard that a lot. I’ve dealt with it a lot. But as far as inclusion, to get more diversity in the game of softball, I think it starts with our youth and giving them the tools in order to be able to play in the lower income areas. We have to focus on equity. We have to infiltrate those communities with the equipment, so they know that it’s accessible.

Do you feel obligated as an athlete to use your platform to speak out about these issues?

I feel more than obligated. I feel like it’s a priority to be able to, and it’s a privilege to be able to use my voice, and I’m taking full advantage of it. Being a woman of color, being in the LGBTQ community, it is so important that I’m able to use my voice so that I can represent people who look like me and feel the way that I do. Having a platform as an athlete, it’s so important to be the voice for people who don’t necessarily have one, so they can know they have somebody to look up to.

And I have seen a lot of people speak up in the softball community. A lot of our white counterparts are reaching out and they’re educating themselves. I see a lot of talk on social media. I see a lot of forums and Zoom calls going on, but I just want to challenge everybody to remember that this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. And we’ve got to have stamina to be able to create change. But I think now more than ever, the timing matters… As far as this movement and then Pride month, I think that they’re both important. I feel that we’re both communities that are lacking. So I’m running with my BLM. I’m advocating for my LGBTQ community. Right now, I feel like my calling is to educate people and to allow them to see the systemic racism and the underlying, the overt and covert racism that plagues our community as much as COVID does, as much as anything else does and even more so.

I wanted to switch gears and talk a little bit about Athletes Unlimited. What are your thoughts about the league and what are you excited about?

I was really skeptical at first to sign my name on the dotted line just because of the dynamics of the league. We talk about team sports and, you know, we’re on a team for a season, for multiple games, and you look at Athletes Unlimited and we’re switching teams every week. So I was initially skeptical, but after talking with other players and hearing the investors speak about this, I feel like this is a good opportunity to change the game.

I really have high hopes for this league. I feel like it’s going to bring on more viewership as opposed to how the NPF has been the past couple of years. And two, we talk about equal pay. Your average person on the NPF was making, I think like five to ten thousand, and I think the base compensation for Athletes Unlimited is around ten. So you have so much room for bonuses and to earn extra money. And granted, we’re still not where we want to be because our MLB counterparts are making… well, they have no salary cap. We’re talking about just a tiny step in the right direction. But again, I really hope that this takes off. It’s going to be a little bit different, but I’m excited to see how it all pans out.

What has training looked like for you right now?

With quarantine, it’s been kind of tough to stay motivated. It’s been challenging. It’s easy to kind of lose yourself when everything is on lockdown. But I have a bunch of equipment at home. I have tees, nets, softballs. Anything you can imagine, I have. I’ve been setting my tee up and my net outside, getting some hits in. I’m actually going somewhere today to hit in the cage for probably the first time in months. But I’ve been doing what I need to do. I got my Apple watch and my activity logs on it. So I’m making sure I’m tracking my workouts.

I really think that this quarantine was a good time to kind of take a step back and think about the passions I have beyond softball. But I for sure have been working out and staying active. I think it’s really important to be able to stay in shape even if we’re not playing because it makes the transition back so much easier.

As a last question, if you don’t mind me asking, what are some of those passions that you have outside of softball?

I’m actually working on an apparel brand. I’m really excited about it. It’s going to be just women’s fitness gear, if you need sets and sports bras and stuff. I’m coming out with a couple of pieces. We’ll figure out when the date is. I would like it to launch it August 15th, on my birthday. But the way things are going with COVID, it’s a little bit slow. But I’m really excited about that. I even bought a sewing machine and everything.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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