Clara Wu Tsai joins the push for women’s health. The co-owner of the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association has teamed up with David Ott, co-founder of Viking Global Investors, and Jane Ott to commit a total of $50 million to the Women’s Health, Sports & Performance Institute (WHSP). The funding aims to address the longstanding lag in medical research focused on female athletes.
Founded by the Ott family alongside Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, the institute will use the capital to accelerate research, education, training, and clinical care for women athletes. “Medical research has historically been based on male physiology, that was the standard; men made the decisions and studied men because the system seemed built for them,” Ackerman said.
The announcement comes a year after Michele Kang (owner of Olympique Lyon and the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League) also pledged $50 million globally to improve elite women athletes’ health, with a particular focus on women’s soccer.
WHSP will study athletes across a broader range of sports, with early projects already underway involving Olympic rowers, rugby players, adolescent soccer players, dancers, and runners.
The institute plans to conduct research across diverse demographics, including adolescents, professional athletes, and postmenopausal women.
“More comprehensive studies of female physiology will lead to better performance and new records in women’s sports; we want our athletes to compete with one another, but we shouldn’t be competing for health resources and information,” Ackerman concluded.
Clara Wu Tsai and her husband, Joe Tsai, who co-own the New York Liberty, decided in May of last year to open the franchise to new investors at a $450 million valuation.
Proceeds will fund the construction of a new training facility, with $80 million earmarked for the project, while the Tsais will retain a majority stake.
The $450 million valuation is not only a record for women’s sports in the United States but also globally. Chelsea Women was valued at $200 million in the so-called Bohely shadow transaction, investigated by UEFA, followed by the entry of Alexis Ohanian as an investor.