Earlier this week, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team earned their first Olympic medal in history, and it marks a positive turn for the women’s sport that’s been overlooked for decades.
“The impact was enormous. I mean, there’s no other way to put it,” says Phaidra Knight, a former U.S. women’s rugby sevens team player and World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee.
“It will have incredible and substantial implications for the future of not only women’s rugby, but rugby in America.”
Knight is a rugby analyst and was part of NBC’s broadcast team for this year’s Olympic games in Paris.
Shortly after the historic win, the sevens team received a $4 million donation from Michele Kang, owner of several women’s soccer clubs and a dedicated supporter in the “advancement of women’s sports,” according to the official USA Rugby’s site.
Kang’s huge investment, which will be invested over the course of four years in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics, may be a smoke signal that more investors will follow.
When Knight became a player on the U.S. National Rugby union team, which is different from the sevens team, in 1999, the program didn’t receive funding, she says. Many professional rugby players join the U.S. National union teams prior to joining a sevens team; four national teams are under USA Rugby.
“I oftentimes had to pay to play with the U.S. I had to pay [a] camp fee and also would most times have to pay for my travel, for my flight, and obviously had to take time off work,” Knight says.
“There was no per diem or any sort of supplement provided, so that was a tough burden to bear for all of us.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team earned their first Olympic medal in history, and it marks a positive turn for the women’s sport that’s been overlooked for decades.
“The impact was enormous. I mean, there’s no other way to put it,” says Phaidra Knight, a former U.S. women’s rugby sevens team player and World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee.
“It will have incredible and substantial implications for the future of not only women’s rugby, but rugby in America.”
Knight is a rugby analyst and was part of NBC’s broadcast team for this year’s Olympic games in Paris.
Shortly after the historic win, the sevens team received a $4 million donation from Michele Kang, owner of several women’s soccer clubs and a dedicated supporter in the “advancement of women’s sports,” according to the official USA Rugby’s site.
Kang’s huge investment, which will be invested over the course of four years in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics, may be a smoke signal that more investors will follow.
When Knight became a player on the U.S. National Rugby union team, which is different from the sevens team, in 1999, the program didn’t receive funding, she says. Many professional rugby players join the U.S. National union teams prior to joining a sevens team; four national teams are under USA Rugby.
“I oftentimes had to pay to play with the U.S. I had to pay [a] camp fee and also would most times have to pay for my travel, for my flight, and obviously had to take time off work,” Knight says.
“There was no per diem or any sort of supplement provided, so that was a tough burden to bear for all of us.”