Serena Williams, who is reportedly part of talks to invest in women's pro flag football, talked up women's sports to NFL owners this week in Palm Beach.
The tennis icon spoke about the growth of leagues like the WNBA alongside Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark on Thursday during the annual NFL meeting.
"I think that we've had so many amazing women athletes for so long, but you guys just noticed, and that's all it is," Williams said. "The men just finally noticed that women have been amazing for 50 years, 60 years. And it's great, because you have great people like Caitlin, here, who is able to bring that platform up."
Williams continued: "It's just investing in us. When we see what it does, investing in women, what we can do, there's an opportunity there for lots of growth."
One of those areas of growth mentioned by Williams and Clark is flag football, which will debut as both a men's and women's spot during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters in February that the league was "very aggressively" considering the launch of both men's and women's pro leagues in the sport.
Bloomberg's Randall Williams reported Wednesday that the NFL is considering 10 bids for the women's pro league, including one from Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian through their investment firm 776.
Clark told attendees at Thursday's meeting that having flag football available as a child might have changed the direction of her athletic career.
The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year said watching her brother Blake Clark play, and her grandfather Bob Nizzi coach, made her want to try the sport out herself.
"I remember going to my brother's football games, and I was like, 'Why can't I play flag football?' I would've played it, I would have loved it," Clark said.
Clark went on to call women's flag football "a great opportunity."
"There's no reason why they can't play that. I think it's super accessible," Clark said.
Clark continued: "I think the more women that watch football— obviously, I grew up with it, but there's a lot of people that don't grow up with football, they don't grow up watching the NFL and things like that. The more people that can start that from a young age, I think will be very powerful."
Goodell said Tuesday at the annual meetings that there has been "a lot of interest in the pro flag league," and that he expects "there'll be progress soon," per ESPN's Michele Steele.
