HARRISON, N.J. — The NWSL rang in its 2024 season on Friday with an unexpected opening act — second gentleman Douglas Emhoff lighting an enlarged torch ahead of NJ/NY Gotham FC’s 1-0 loss to San Diego Wave in the Challenge Cup.
It marked the latest stop on Emhoff’s tour of sports arenas during his three-plus years in the role, but the Manchester United fan is not just using the gig to score premium seats to sporting events of his choice. A visit to Red Bull Arena tied into one of his big initiatives as the second gentleman: Tackling gender equities.
Emhoff has used women’s sports as a tool to do so, and chiefly women’s soccer, most notably leading the U.S. delegation at the Women’s World Cup last year. Focusing on women’s sports, he said, is a natural fit for the task at hand.
“Women’s sports, it’s a very public encapsulation of what’s happening to every woman in every industry,” the second gentleman told CBS Sports. “To be able to talk about the same issues of childcare and having to take leave and figuring out how to stay on the field while balancing a family, all these issues and being paid less, much less.”
Despite noting the similarities between women’s sports and other industries, his…
