Why this women’s hockey league is truly different

In today’s Big Story Podcast, there have been previous attempts to launch a professional league for the best women ice skaters in the world — the stars we’ve all watched at the Olympics, who have had to work second and third jobs to keep their careers going. Those attempts have all failed.

“When you’ve been in a position where you’re not getting paid well, you’re not getting treated well, your salary is cut in the middle of the night — it’s hard to have trust. I think that’s true of these players and true of many athletes in women’s sports who have had to deal with just unsatisfactory conditions for a long time in their career,” said Maitreyi Ananthanraman, a reporter with Defector.

In the hopes of finally, at long last, securing a stable league, with real funding and actual, professional treatment (long lacking in other women’s leagues) some of the game’s best players formed an association first, and only then went looking for a league to play in. This year, they got it. And the early returns have been incredible. This is the story of the long road to a real women’s league, and why this time, really, is different.

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