Latest news with #FortheWin:NWSL
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Ben Shelton's girlfriend Trinity Rodman's life from career to famous dad
Trinity Rodman has been supporting her partner at Wimbledon lately (Image: AFP via Getty Images) Trinity Rodman has been among those supporting Ben Shelton at Wimbledon this month. She's been spotted in the crowd at the annual tournament in the UK lately as the tennis player competes in this year's championship. Ben, 22, competed against Lorenzo Sonego in a match that was held earlier today in London. Trinity, 23, who has been romantically linked to Ben since earlier this year, was in the audience for his victory in the game, which has secured him a place in the quarter finals of the competition. Trinity is no stranger to a sporting contest though as she's a footballer. Described as a "rising superstar" in soccer, she's been a forward for Washington Spirit, which is part of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), since 2021. Trinity Rodman (left), pictured with Emma Shelton (right), has been supporting her partner Ben Shelton at Wimbledon (Image: Ben Whitley/PA Wire) Two years ago, she's said to have become the youngest player in NWSL history to record 10 assists and 10 goals in a regular season career. More recently, last year, she was named her team's all-time regular season assists leader. Trinity also plays for the US Women's National Soccer Team. Through that team, which is joined in 2022, she's an Olympic gold medalist following their stint in Paris last year. Trinity scored three goals for the team at the event. Her career, which has included collaborations with brands like Adidas, has involved appearances on TV too. She was among the players followed through last year's NWSL playoffs for docuseries For the Win: NWSL, which launched on Prime Video earlier this year. Trinity and Ben have been romantically linked for months (Image: Instagram/trinity_rodman) Trinity isn't the only member of her family to have a career in sports. She's the youngest child of retired basketball player Dennis Rodman, 64, and his ex-wife Michelle Moyer, who divorced when she was a child. Her older brother Dennis 'DJ' Rodman, 24, has followed in their father's footsteps with a career in basketball. Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, in an episode released in March, Trinity revealed that she has often been estranged from her father over the year. She said that she has "made it clear that he's not present" and it "frustrates" her being asked about him in interviews. Trinity has her own career in sports as a professional footballer (Image: Getty Images) She said on the podcast that she would go years without seeing him at times in her life and months without talking. She claimed that he "partied all the time" when she was growing up and has remained estranged in recent years. Trinity said at one point: "He's not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else." As reported by the Mirror US at the time, Dennis issued a public apology in a now-deleted post. He wrote: "Sorry I wasn't the Dad you wanted me to be but either way I still tried and I still Try and Never will Stop. "I will keep Trying even when you're being told as an adult not to respond to my phone calls. I will try even when it's difficult and if it takes a long time. I'm always here And tell you all the time rather it's your voice or voicemail how proud I am." Her father is former basketball player Dennis Rodman (Image: Getty Images) Dennis reportedly continued: "I always had one wish and it was I wish my kids would call me and come see me. Hopefully one day I can get that. I'm here and I'm still trying pick up the phone you have my number, You see me calling, I'm still here Dennis RODMAN- Dad." The outlet reported that Trinity responded to the post at the time. She's said to have replied "a joke," adding: "The response alone. Wiping my hands with it I'm done. Thank you." Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads . READ MORE: Anthropologie's tennis-themed cardigan is a must-buy for Wimbledon fans
New York Times
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
NWSL's new docuseries focuses on players' competitiveness and passion on the field
The first docuseries about the NWSL playoffs is here just in time for the 2025 season. The new four-part series, For the Win: NWSL, green-lit by the league's organisers in February, was released in full on Amazon's Prime Video on Thursday. The series promised an immersive, behind-the-scenes look at teams' playoff runs during the 2024 postseason. The series did exactly what it set out to do. However, it now begs the question: what's next? Advertisement For longtime fans of the NWSL, the series relives some of the most thrilling highlights of the postseason. For new fans, it's a crash course on some must-know narratives heading into the upcoming campaign. It is especially prevalent on the eve of Friday's Challenge Cup, a rematch of last year's championship game between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit with a trophy on the line. The series is a promising start but it caters more to the uninitiated. Following a private viewing of the film at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on Tuesday, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said that reaching new fans will be 'the theme of 2025.' 'You're going to see a lot of initiatives to give not just our current core fans but future fans, too, an opportunity to discover us,' Berman said during a Q&A moderated by former NFL quarterback Eli Manning, a Gotham FC minority owner, with Gotham defender Nealy Martin and the film's director, Marie Margolius. 'That was the whole strategy behind our media deal, and that is going to be what you're going to see manifest throughout this year, which is to see the NWSL and our players showing up in unsuspecting places.' One of those initiatives includes the league's 'Just Watch' marketing campaign launching next week. The idea for the docuseries came together last year, Berman said. At the time, the league was pitched by 'all of the top producers and directors' for projects about the NWSL, she said. The league realized the opportunity it had and eventually partnered with the production studio Words + Pictures for the series. Prime Video, one of the league's media rights holders, later agreed to carry the series. 'Telling (players') stories, both on and off the pitch, is the best way for us to make sure everybody knows who we are,' Berman said, 'and hopefully then drive them towards watching the games, because that's how we're going to grow the business and get these players paid what they're worth.' The docuseries is just one ingredient in a larger recipe to grow exposure for the NWSL. The hope is that the docuseries will pick up on the successful momentum from the first year of the league's historic four-year media rights deal, which includes ESPN, CBS, Prime Video and Scripps Sports. Advertisement Margolius, the series' director, was also a producer on Netflix's Under Pressure docuseries, which followed the U.S. women's national team during their World Cup run in 2023. In an interview with The Athletic before the premiere, Margolius described the new docuseries as a dream project, especially as someone who played collegiately at Harvard University and later professionally in Sweden. 'I played soccer my whole life. It was and is a huge part of my identity,' Margolius said. 'Getting to direct this project was, first of all, in so many ways, like a dream come true, but also really easy, because I've been a fan of the NWSL for so long.' Margolius even played against some of the players highlighted in the film, like Orlando's co-captain, Kylie Strom. The two crossed paths when Margolius was at Harvard and Strom at Boston University. While Margolius' background was valuable for the process, her goal was to make the players relatable to a wider audience, so she found ways to connect with them on a more personal level while leading the project. 'The thing that allowed me to lead the storytelling process was the ability to connect with the players on a human level,' Margolius said. 'We do a lot of sports storytelling. But we always say, it's actually not about the sport at all. The sport is the vehicle that moves the thing forward. But the reason these stories are so fun to tell and hear and see is the human stuff.' The series begins in Orlando five weeks before playoffs and concludes with highlights from this year's busy offseason and expectations heading into 2025. The series is, essentially, a snapshot of the highs and lows of last year's postseason, walking through the rivalries that were formed, including the Gotham-Spirit battle at Audi Field during the semifinals, and introducing the audience to a wide range of players, from Spirit's rising star Trinity Rodman and Orlando defender Strom to then-Gotham forward Lynn Williams, who has since joined Seattle Reign. Advertisement The series also explores the many retirements that happened in 2024, as many question who the next faces of the NWSL will be. Rodman was heavily featured throughout the series as one of those fresh faces. There is an awkward moment with Amazon product placement when showing that Rodman was named to the NWSL's Best XI of the month presented, of course, by Amazon Prime. For fans who followed the playoffs closely, the series can feel repetitive. That's where the unprecedented access behind the scenes comes into play, offering longtime fans little nuggets to hold onto. There are the constant jumps to interviews with soccer analyst Heather O'Reilly or Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain, who need no introduction. There are also glimpses into private moments, such as when the North Carolina Courage squad watched Orlando topple the Chicago Red Stars (now Chicago Stars), 4-1, in the quarterfinals. A player is overheard jokingly asking, 'Did Chicago not scout them?' There's also a scene where veteran players O'Reilly and Alex Morgan chat at Kelley O'Hara's retirement game at Red Bull Arena. Discussing retirement, they declared the eight-hour workday as way too long. (Relatable.) The series, however, only scratches the surface and leaves out the kind of context fans of the league are drawn to. There is a brief mention of disgraced ex-coach Paul Riley, for example, when the series delves into the Portland Thorns' historic dominance. While there is mention of the Sally Yates report and images shown from the player protests that followed reports published by The Athletic and Washington Post that exposed widespread abuse in the NWSL in 2021, not much else was mentioned about that period for the league. GO DEEPER NWSL's $5 million fund is 'necessary step toward accountability' after abuse scandal It seems that was on purpose, as Margolius said the series' creators made a conscious effort to keep the narrative strictly focused on the playoffs. 'While I certainly had an urge to be original and make this stand out in some way, I was even more conscientious of making sure that I was not changing the storytelling tactics just because it was women at the center of it,' Margolius said during the Q&A on Tuesday. 'So often when we cover women's sports, we tend to water down the competitiveness or the passion or the failure in lieu of very worthy stories, but stories of advocacy and family and the trials and tribulations of being a female athlete.' That's why, Margolius said, they leaned heavily into the grit and tenacity of the playoffs. That was potentially at the risk of being too linear for some fans. 'In this league, there are stakes and there are heroes and there are underdogs,' Margolius said. 'All the things you need for a great story.' Advertisement The series will certainly leave the viewers wanting more — either more access, more stories, or more narratives —but it also leaves room for there to be more. It's an interesting place for the NWSL, as it grapples with what the league's future will look like as it grows through more media exposure, high-profile investors and expansion. For Margolius, the hope is more stories will follow. 'Series like this will inspire more of this type of storytelling and in doing so, we'll grow the sport,' she said. 'That's the beauty of these types of series.'
