Episode 26 | The Door - Part 2: Ann Meyers Said Yes When the World Laughed, Lisa Leslie's WNBA Le...

This is The Door Part 2, part of our Trailblazers series — the women's sports history special that picks up where Episode 13 left off, moving into the modern era with six athletes who each forced a renegotiation of the terms the sports world handed them. Timely on two fronts: Venus and Serena Williams are playing Wimbledon doubles together as this drops, and the WNBA is celebrating its 30th anniversary. From a 1979 NBA training camp in Indiana to Simone Biles on the floor in Paris, this episode traces what "opening the door" actually cost — and what it made possible. This week we cover: • Ann Meyers Drysdale and the 1979 Indiana Pacers tryout: The Pacers signed a woman to a $50,000 free agent contract and invited her to training camp. She didn't make the team — but the tryout reframed what was considered possible. She went on to pioneer women's sports broadcasting in men's leagues and front office leadership for an NBA franchise, all at a time when neither was supposed to exist. • Lisa Leslie and the founding of the WNBA: When Leslie signed with the Los Angeles Sparks in 1997, she passed on better-paying overseas contracts to help build the league from scratch. Twelve seasons, two championships, three MVPs, and the first dunk in WNBA history. She understood personal brand before the term existed, and Caitlin Clark's arrival in 2024 traces directly back to what Leslie chose to build and stay for. • Venus Williams and equal pay at Wimbledon: Venus published an op-ed in the Times of London in 2006 — with data — and Wimbledon equalized prize money in 2007. She and Serena, back on the doubles court this week, have been among the most dominant forces in the sport for 30 years running. • Megan Rapinoe and the USWNT equal pay lawsuit: Filed in March 2019, three months before the World Cup. Settled for $24 million in February 2022. The legal blueprint the team created is now being referenced by federations around the world. • Simone Biles and the right to say no: Her withdrawal at the Tokyo 2021 team final — citing the twisties — was polarizing at the time. Her Paris 2024 comeback, three gold medals, reframed the conversation entirely around athlete mental health and what it looks like to set a boundary on the world's biggest stage. The episode also covers Caitlin Clark's impact on WNBA attendance (up nearly 50% year-over-year in 2024) and the hosts' honest take on the complicated narrative forming around her heading into the 2025 season. Follow Raising the Game for weekly women's sports coverage.Instagram/Threads/YouTube: @rtg_podWebsite: rtgpod.comSubstack: substack.com/@raisingthegamepodcastEmail: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])