W|W WEDNESDAY NEWSLETTER: AUG 20, 2025
Soccer teams across Europe were back on the pitch this past weekend to start their seasons, so we’re starting off this week’s newsletter with a quick spin across the pond.
In England, Chelsea Football Club is making history by introducing on-screen British Sign Language interpreters for all home games for their men and women teams.
Back in the U.S., our hearts and minds were captivated by Able Made and Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation founder Suzanne McKenzie, and her journey of turning tragedy and resilience into community support through soccer.
And going from fútbol to football, New Era’s hilarious designation of Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen as their “Director of Billustration” has us both wishing we’d thought of that first, and cheering for their brilliant (or BILLiant?) idea to leverage Allen’s stardom to create more social impact.
You’ll also get two Leveling-Ups from our team this week, because we’re feeling a little bit extra: one about adding a purpose-driven element to the new NFL x Crocs collection, and the other about giving more wings to the Golden State Valkyries’ big mascot reveal.
Last but never least, our Mic Drop features former NBA sharp shooter Damon Jones and a statement that we wholeheartedly agree with at WIN | WIN. Cut athletes some slack, they’re human beings too!
Keeping it cool until next week,
The WIN | WIN Team
P.S: Don’t forget! Help make our “Common Ground: The Power of Sports & Social Impact” panel a reality at SXSW26 in Austin. Just three days left to vote!
ICYMI: THIS WEEK’S W|W DOWNLOADS
.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
When Suzanne McKenzie’s husband, Ucal McKenzie, tragically died while playing soccer, she transformed her grief into a powerful dual mission, building the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation to provide access to soccer for underserved youth, and Able Made, a sustainable, runway-inspired, street-soccer clothing brand to fund the foundation’s work.
.
ACCESS & INCLUSION
Thanks to a groundbreaking collab with Cadbury, Chelsea FC is introducing on-screen British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters for all home games during the 2025/26 soccer season — plus, BSL support for stadium tours and online fan forums — creating greater accessibility for all.
Read more →
.
Image source: Cavaliers Nation (2019)
“Don’t be so quick to judge. A lot of things are happening in the world every day that are being hyped-up on social media…let’s be more empathetic to the things that are going on in people’s lives. However you look at [athletes], they’re human beings, as well.”
Former NBA player, champion coach, and ESPN commentator Damon Jones on the current state of sports fandom, and how to better support athletes at all levels
.
It’s your lucky day friends, because we’ve got a Leveling-Up double-header coming your way. And not on purpose, but they’re both loosely related to animals 🐊 🐦⬛. Keep reading and you’ll see what we mean.
We’ll start out west in the WNBA, with the Golden State Valkryies debuting their new mascot, Violet (nicknamed “Vi"), on what they highly-promoted as “Birdwatchers Night.” The NY Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant has set a new pop-culture standard for mascots in the W, so we’re not surprised that Violet’s big reveal was also marketed as a really big deal.
The purple-colored raven (according to the team, “ravens are commonly known as Valkyries’ helpful and savvy counterparts in Norse mythology") made her mystical debut during halftime against the CT Sun. She strutted her stuff decked-out in custom team merch, with fans receiving “birdwatching binoculars” courtesy of DoorDash…which, BTW, is a collab that seems to have fallen off of most media outlets’ radar. It was a cool moment, for sure, with intrigue and curiosity building around the violet-colored, gold-speckled egg that appeared a few days before the debut to help spark excitement.
Source: Golden State Valkyries
But with all of the buzz (flapping?) around this intro, the “Birdwatchers Night” fanfare, and the generally eco-conscious culture of California, we couldn’t help but wonder…
How could they have partnered with a local bird protection organization, like Audubon California, to not just capitalize on the moment’s commercial visibility, but also do a lil’ something good for the community at the same time?
Here’s the playbook we might’ve gone with:
Influencers: Find the overlap of Valkryies fans and birders who are social media influencers, and invite them to the game with some sweet courtside seats. In exchange, ask them to start looking for and posting about birds indigenous to CA and/or the Bay area in the weeks leading up to the reveal. A nest here, some in-flight shots there, plenty of sparkly purple accents. Plant subtle hints with educational content coming from CA Audubon, and a big reveal of the partnership across all of the influencers’ platforms at the same time on game night. Birders, meet ballers.
Cleanup collabs: Throughout the season, hold Valkyries-sponsored beach or shore cleanups, in partnership with CA Audubon, to remove plastics and trash that are harmful to local birds. Get one player from the team to join each cleanup (star-power always brings volunteers out of the woodwork), with everyone involved having a chance to win box seats for an upcoming game. Each cleanup would also be an opportunity for another brand sponsor to get in on the action.
Birds of a feather: You know what they do — they flock together. We’re pretty sure Vi wouldn’t mind a cohort of other flighted friends, so why not create some sidekicks based on bird species native to the Bay? Each one would have its own personality and focus. Maybe one’s awesome at dunking and is obsessed with air quality. Another’s all about giving her teammates encouragement from the sidelines, and keeps an eye on the crew’s natural habitat (and its predators, aka, opponents). Just think of all of the cool engagement opportunities they could create throughout the arena and the city — fans could interact with the mascots, learn about the local ecosystem, maybe even play a game of RAVEN instead of HORSE together at local parks.
There’s SO much we could do here. But like we promised, we’ve got one more campaign to get to…
This one’s brought to you by the NFL…and Crocs 🐊. Yup, the love-em-or-hate-em rubberized footwear brand that’s pretty much invaded every cultural space at this point just announced a new NFL collection, launching with branded styles for 14 teams, with the rest rolling out over the next few seasons.
Source: Crocs.com
Crocs has a pretty big corporate-purpose platform, with efforts ranging from sustainable manufacturing to inclusive workspaces, and youth empowerment to healthcare worker support. So it feels like adding a “third leg” of social impact to this collab shouldn’t be too big of a (foot)step outside their comfort zone.
For example…
NFL Flag is a huge advocate for making sports accessible to all youth, regardless of age, gender, or ability. Crocs has existing partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and an initiative called Step Up To Greatness, which “supports young people to gain new skills, build their confidence, access opportunities, and reach their potential.” Why not bring these programs and nonprofits together, with a portion of the merch proceeds from the NFL x Crocs collection helping to uplift their joint efforts?
Crocs’ already has a Jibbitz for Good line, where the brand “works with a nonprofit to create special, limited-edition Jibbitz™ charm designs inspired by the organization's impact.” We’re not clear on whether the NPO gets any funding from sales, but this one seems like an easy way to drive financial support for either the NFL Foundation, or individual teams’ foundations, through sales of the NFL-branded charms.
You probably get how we think about these things by now, and would love to know… what sports brand partnerships have you seen lately that could use some Leveling-Up?
If you’ve got some ideas, give us a shout at [email protected]. We’d love to feature your Leveling-Up takes in a future edition of our newsletter.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE FOLLOWING
✊🏼 End Racism. Stop Hate. Choose Love. Inspire Change. It Takes All of Us. The NFL is continuing its social justice messaging in the end zones this upcoming season. Might need to start a tracker to see which one is most popular among teams this year. 🏈
🏘️ Women’s sports teams continue leading the way in community engagement. The NWSL’s Courage is partnering with the United Way of North Carolina on addressing key community needs throughout the state by leveraging their platform of pro soccer to amplify the issues. ⚽️
📒 Formula 1 released its community engagement report this week. First, we’re excited that this is a priority. Second, we’re even more excited to see their efforts continue to grow alongside the growth of the sport. Fast track to more impact. 🏎️
BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR
If you’re passionate about making a difference, AND have a story to tell about the power of sports to create positive social change, we want to amplify your voice — and your impact — by sharing your story.
Got breaking news at the intersection of sports and social impact? Share it with WIN | WIN first for access to our dedicated audience of insiders.
