Pink dragon club
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Happy Tuesday!
Another WNBA mascot has entered the arena: The expansion squad Portland Fire introduced Rose the Glitter-Breathing Dragon on Sunday, tapping Pantone to help make her mark and Oregon-based Nike to keep her footwear fresh. Think she’ll get to work out in the new women-forward performance center?
WNBA
🚦 On your Marcs, get set…
The GIST: Last Friday, Marc Stad became the most recent billionaire to buy a sports team. The venture capitalist (VC) is now the controlling owner of both the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves. There’s plenty of speculation about what this can do for the T-Wolves when the NBA tips off in October, but we’re curious about the new ownership right now.
- Good news for fans of the Electric Slide is that an in-season change shouldn’t affect the WNBA–leading squad with the playoffs just five games (and an international break) away. Still, billion-dollar moves can’t mean nothing so let’s boogie, woogie woogie into this newest front office shake up.
The context: If this sale is ringing some bells it’s because the previous majority owners, Marc Lore and MLB legend Alex Rodriguez, spent four years trying to complete this exact transaction. The phased $1.5B buyout began in 2021 before turning into a lengthy legal battle that ultimately ended in Lore and Rodriguez acquiring 100% ownership. Messy.
- Lore, who spent just 14 months in charge after 50 months of pursuing the teams, has now sold his majority stake — although he will stay with the organization as a minority investor — with Rodriguez increasing his ownership stake and Stad becoming the new controlling owner.
The moves: The biggest change is happening off the court — Marc’s wife Elisa Stad was named governor of the Timberwolves. With the LA Lakers’ Jeanie Buss’ seat in flux, Stad is one of two current women NBA governors along with Gayle Benson of the New Orleans Pelicans.
- In both the NBA and the WNBA — where Rodriguez will remain governor of the Lynx — the position serves as the primary representative of their team and votes on league matters, including collective bargaining agreements.
Zooming out: Lore’s financial moves mirror what happened in the Lakers recent sale when previous owner Mark Walter cashed out after just 10 months in charge. The thread tying the two transactions was a massive jump in valuation over a very short period of time — the Lakers price grew $2.5B during Walter’s tenure and the Minnesota teams are now valued at $4.5B.
- With massive media deals and the wild growth of the WNBA, team ownership in 2026 is feeling a little like flipping houses, but the value these teams are generating YoY is a trend that more VC and billionaire sharks will be eager to sink their teeth into. Watch this space.
⚾ WPBL board member claims hidden records amid fraud suspicions
Yesterday, Front Office Sports reported WPBL board member Mina Kim requested to review the league’s financial records due to “red flags” about unexplained payments made to a law firm that employs league CEO Keith Stein and another WPBL board member, Andreas Kloppenborg, as well as a company that lists Stein and his wife as owners.
- However, Kim has said her requests have been insufficiently addressed despite repeated attempts. Yikes.
⚽ Esther González’s move to Saudi club raises eyebrows
Former NWSL standout Esther González and her longtime club, Gotham FC, mutually terminated her contract in July so she could attend “to personal matters in Spain” — which is why many fans were surprised to see her sign with a Saudi Women’s Premier League team on Sunday.
- Given the country’s women’s rights record, critics have been skeptical of Saudi investment in women’s sports for years, not to mention that Esther is married to a woman and shares a child with her — but same-sex relationships are illegal in Saudi Arabia.
📲 New app makes watching women’s sports more accessible
The Watch Women’s Sports (IRL) app and website has caught traction online this week for its ability to help fans filter women’s sports events by location to learn about games happening nearby. Founded by Lucy Schodell, the app is available on iOS with an Android version in the works. We love a problem solver.
🏈 Women-focused brands are releasing their new NFL lines ahead of kickoff: Off Season, NFL WAG Kristin Juszczyk’s brand, just dropped its fall football collection, as did Bauble Bar and Abercrombie & Fitch. Set to slay.
🎾 The US Open will issue credentials to nearly 100 content creators during the tournament, an increase from last year’s 54.
🛜 Speaking of the US Open, the tourney announced another major brand partner on Friday: AT&T as its official connectivity provider.
🎙️ Running Point actress and famously enthusiastic sports fan Brenda Song made her broadcast debut as a guest color analyst during the LA Rams’ preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
📈 World Team Tennis (WTT) announced three new teams, one of which is associated with WTA star Jessica Pegula. WTT will relaunch as a mixed-gender pro team tennis league this December.
⚽ FIFA released the 2027 Women’s World Cup match schedule — Brazil will kick off the tournament in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium on June 24th, which will also host the final on July 25th.
🙄 As culture wars continue to roil the WNBA, an old problem returned: Twice this weekend, game attendees threw sex toys onto courts during games, a stunt that already caused a stir in 2025.
🏫 The NCAA was granted a stay in the July 31st injunction which promised Class of 2022 athletes another year of eligibility, just days before fall sports seasons begin. Talk about whiplash.
❌ Good Good Golf, the media and apparel brand popular with young golfers, is drawing criticism for a social media ad that depicted a co-founder shoving a woman employee to the ground.
Today's email was brought to you by Rachel Fuenzalida, Lisa Minutillo, and Katie Foster. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Ali Haberstroh. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Katie Foster. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.