A player from an American soccer team owned by Serena Williams has taken to social media to share her disapproval at what she deemed unacceptable tactics by a fan to gather autographs. Angel City play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and are co-owned by tennis great Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian.
Currently sitting sixth in the table, the Los Angles-based outfit took on KC Current at the BDO Stadium on Monday evening and recorded a 3-2 victory after racing into a 3-0 first-half lead.
But an incident that unfolded during the match left Angel City defender Sarah Gordon deeply unimpressed by the efforts fans were prepared to go to acquire autographs.
It was claimed by a City fan on Twitter that another fan called over one of the players’ children before handing the youngster a jersey and pen and asked them to go and get an autograph from one of the players for him.
F1 Grand Prix of Miami
Serena Williams at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami. (Image: Getty) The tweet was spotted by Gordon, who retweeted the alleged account, adding her own view on the matter. She wrote: “Do not take advantage of my baby like this! He is an empath and sweetheart so he listened to be respectful but his sensitivity needs to be protected and celebrated not used. Say hi and wave but don’t do this.”
Although the original account of the incident did not confirm exactly which player’s child had been approached to collect the autograph, the stern response from Gordon suggests that it was her own son.
It now leaves Williams and Ohanian with a matter to investigate, which could lead to a reassessment of existing security protocols for players and their families on match days.
Angel City’s 3-2 triumph arrived courtesy of goals from Alyssa Thompson, Claire Emsile and Jun Endo, with the latter finding the net in first-half injury time. But nerves would be frayed after the interval, as KC Current staged a fightback thanks to responses from Isabel Denise Rodriguez and Cece Kizer, setting up a nervy last half an hour.
Victory keeps Freya Coombe’s side five points adrift of league leaders OL Reign, after the first six rounds of matches.
Angel City FC was founded in 2020 but didn’t join the NWSL until 2022. Williams and Ohanian are not the only high-profile owners of the sporting franchise. The Los Angles club can also name actress Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria and Mia Hamm amongst its sizeable ownership group.
