Women’s sports are about far more than winning and losing; they’re about the impact of sports on the players and the society where they’re played. Once a year, the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) celebrates and awards a select group of those who have stepped up to amplify women in sports. The event’s stellar backdrop also brings together top athletes and coaches, business leaders, sports leagues and teams, philanthropists, members of the media, and more.
This year, the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) invites you to join them on Wednesday, October 22, at 6:00 pm ET for an unforgettable evening. This high-energy event at one of New York’s most spectacular venues, Cipriani Wall Street®, kicks off with a red carpet and cocktail hour, followed by a seated dinner and awards show.
2025 Honorees are:
Inaugural Game Changer Award
Diana Flores, captain of Mexico’s national Flag Football Team, is an ambassador for both the NFL and the International Federation of American Football (IFA), and a global champion of flag football’s historic growth. She led Mexico to a gold medal at the 2022 World Games and a repeat victory over the United States in 2025, helping elevate the sport on a global stage. Flores also starred in the NFL’s groundbreaking “Run With It” Super Bowl ad campaign, becoming one of the most recognizable faces in flag football and inspiring a worldwide reimagining of women’s sports.
Billie Jean King Leadership Award
Michele Kang is another woman revolutionizing women’s sports on a global stage. As founder of Kynisca, the first multi-team global powerhouse in women’s football, she is unlocking the game’s full commercial and cultural potential. After making history as the first woman of color to own an NWSL team with the Washington Spirit, she expanded to OL Lyon and London City Lionesses, forging a bold new model for the sport. Through Kynisca, Kang champions other game-changing organizations like USA Women’s Rugby, U.S. Soccer, and IDA Sports — combining strategic investment and philanthropy to break barriers, drive impact, and build a sustainable future for women.
Champion for Equality Award
Herb Simon is the owner and chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment and a trailblazer in women’s professional basketball. He brought the Indiana Fever to the WNBA in 2000, leading the team to its 2012 Championship and helping elevate the league’s national profile. Simon is the longest-tenured owner in both the WNBA and NBA and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. A dedicated champion of women’s sports, Simon and his family have made lasting civic and philanthropic contributions throughout his adopted home state of Indiana.
Wilma Rudolph Courage Award
Alysia Montaño is transforming the landscape of women’s sports through fearless advocacy for mom athletes. A seven-time national champion and Olympic bronze medalist, she became a global symbol of strength and defiance when she raced while eight months pregnant — shattering outdated norms and igniting a movement for maternal rights in sport. Off the track, Montaño has driven policy reform, challenged industry giants, and built platforms that demand equity for women balancing elite competition and motherhood. Her bold leadership is breaking barriers, rewriting rules, and building a future where women everywhere never have to choose between starting a family and their ambitions.
This 51st Salute to Women in Sports promises to live up to the excellence of WSF’s work supporting compliance with Title IX, lifting barriers to girls’ and women’s participation in sports—in schools, communities, from college to the elite levels, and increasing the number of women coaches. When women play, we all win. WSF’s mission remains that of its founder, Billie Jean King, to give women and girls equal opportunity to participate in sports as boys. Most do not go on to play in college-level sports, but the teamwork and leadership skills they learn playing at any level follows them into their lives and careers.
While amplifying and elevating girls and women in sports is one of the reasons Women Connect4Good supports WSF, there are far more benefits to sports that we often overlook. Dannette Leighton said it best in her podcast interview with Dr. Nancy, “Sports is the best part or the best way of being a community builder, which is why I think it’s also important for us, no matter where people sit politically. Sports are always meant to be that one thing that brings us all together, which is why we think it’s really important for both men and women to have equal opportunity playing sports.”
That coming together has economic benefits to communities, provides in-person activities in the fresh air, alleviates stress, and promotes physical and mental fitness. The list goes on and on. The Impact Awards represent the apex of impact. These award winners have gone way past their comfort zone to help others in ways some of us only imagine. The event will be spectacular, but so is the Women’s Sports Foundation website, with its research, inspiring success stories, and plans for the future. Click here to register for the Impact Awards or click here to learn more about the WSF, or to see how you might get involved in promoting sports in your area.