OL Reign place Black Future Coop Fund front and center on the 2021 kits.
The OL Reign opened the 2021 Challenge Cup campaign in front of fans wearing their new home kits. Ad space on professional sports uniforms or equipment is a hot commodity, especially given the losses sports leagues have suffered amid the global coronavirus; Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, the OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League opted to take a different approach. The club decided to place the name of a Black women-led community group on their jerseys.
Both Reign kits showcase the Black Future Co-op Fund, a collective created to “empower Black-led solutions that foster Black wealth, health, and well-being for generations” according to the organization’s website. This is the second year of the partnership between the OL Reign and the Seattle-based philanthropy. The club played on behalf of the Black Future Co-op Fund during the 2020 NWSL Fall Series and raised over $15,000 for the organization.
“During our transition between presenting partners, we recognized that our club had an incredible opportunity to use our most valuable media asset to raise awareness for an organization that we care deeply about,” said Reign CEO Bill Predmore in a press release.
The Black Future Co-op Fund will be featured on the front of the 2021 kits, after which the club will seek to secure another presenting partner. Seattle-based e-commerce business Zulily signed a multi-year deal as presenting partner for the Reign and their brother team the Seattle Sounders in 2019.
“We’re grateful to team up with OL Reign to realize the promise of shared prosperity for Black Washingtonians. OL Reign’s dedication and passion combined with ours creates a powerful partnership for spreading hope and gratitude and, ultimately, achieving our collective vision of Black liberation,” said Washington state senator and Black Future Co-op Fund co-founder T’wina Nobles.
Players from the OL Reign model the latest team jerseys.
The Black Future Co-op Fund addresses systemic barriers in four main ways: connecting Black communities for collective power, promoting a truthful Black narrative, investing in Black generational prosperity, and shifting the paradigm of philanthropy. The collective also prioritizes “Black-led solutions” to foster generational Black wealth, health, and well-being.
The Reign debuted the primary kit or Gratitude jerseys Friday night as they played to a scoreless draw in front of a limited number of fans, per state restrictions. Defender Madison Hammond talked about the new kits in the postgame press conference.
“I think that it's really incredible that we get to have the Black Future Co-op Fund front and center. You know for me, as a biracial member of this league and a Black woman, it's really important and impactful that this club is really buying into the initiatives that are important to us,” said Hammond.
The NWSL was the first league to return amid the ongoing pandemic and national dialogue about racial injustice. Balancing sports during Covid-19 and more killings of unarmed Black women and men at the hands of law enforcement was a heavy task. In an effort to engage and be fully present in meaningful conversations, OL Reign players participated in a privilege walk last June.
As a facilitator read ten statements one by one, participants were asked to step forward if it applied to them. The OL Reign created a two-minute video to illustrate the results of the activity.
“Our positions are not a reflection of our personal actions. They are indicative of the generations of systemic racism that have disproportionately placed people ahead,” said the narrator. “We are committed to creating equal opportunity in order to close this gap.”
The recently extended partnership with The Black Future Co-op Fund is taking the club’s activity and the conversations that followed to the next level.
“The fact that it's something more than just lip service here is really nice because I don't have to worry about those types of stresses off the field, I can just focus on my game,” Hammond told the media Friday night.
In addition to promoting the Black Future Co-op Fund all season long, OL Reign will donate $10 for every jersey sale, per the Black Future Co-op Fund Twitter account. The club has not commented whether they will make an additional contribution or promote the philanthropy on future jersey designs.
Jasmyne Spencer and Madison Hammond model the 2021 OL Reign Kits.
For now, it is a welcome step towards equity, according to Hammond who was also able to model the kits for the promotional photos and video.
“I just think the partnership is really cool and I think that the Black Future Co-op Fund in itself is a really cool initiative, and it just deserves its recognition.”
