Her parents hope that by the time she turns 18, the world will be a more just and equitable place, a world where women – and black women, like her – won’t wonder why opportunities are being denied them and will get paid for. what they are worth.
If Alexis Olympia wants to learn programming and work in the tech industry, her dad will teach her: it’s Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the social news site, Reddit.
Ohanian and Williams got engaged in 2016; a year later their daughter was born. They just teamed up again to nurture a new creation: They are the main investors in a team that will join the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022. The Los Angeles-based team has been nicknamed “Angel City”.
Speaking on CNN, Ohanian illustrated how she now sees her role in the world after marrying a global female icon.
“I got a front row seat to know exactly how different he is and how hard he worked not just as a woman, but as a black woman,” she said.
Now that he has a young daughter, he is determined to help with the cause.
“Olympia is not going to question everything Serena has done to make this world better for Olympia. I want to sit at that dining table when Olympia is a little bigger and feel like I’ve done my part, too.” he added.
‘I don’t know how he does it’
As the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles and one of the most dominant athletes – in any sport – for the past two decades, no one can question Williams’ achievements.
The narrative was always that she was a stranger, fighting on the streets of Compton, just south of Los Angeles to challenge the hierarchy of a traditionally elitist white sport.
There was considerable friction along the way. At the Indian Wells final in 2001, Williams’ father Richard and older sister Venus were booed as they headed to their seats before the finale, with Richard claiming in USA Today that he was a victim of racial abuse.
More than once during our interview, Ohanian refers to the invisible challenges faced by both female and black female athletes.
“I don’t know how he does it,” he says of his wife, Serena, who has had to endure prejudice on both counts, including a growing trend of abuse such figures are now receiving on social media.
Racism online
Several prominent English Premier League football players recently spoke on CNN about the toxicity being piped straight into their inboxes.
“I’m afraid to even search for my direct messages. It could be full of anything. For black footballers, being on Instagram isn’t even fun anymore.”
As one of the leading figures in the tech world, Ohanian has witnessed the rise of hate speech on the Internet; as Serena’s husband, he has observed the damage it can cause. For professional athletes, who deserve every ounce of their success and should be able to celebrate accordingly, it’s heartbreaking.
He says these athletes “didn’t get there just because their dad gave them the job and now I’m CEO. This is where we hope as humanity to see the best in us shine and then celebrate it.”
He added: “It is incredibly disheartening and disheartening to see that the evils of it all make the experience so bad for people who have proven themselves to be excellent.”
In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police in May, a racial awakening movement has swept the globe; Ohanian acknowledges that he has a key role to play in that movement. As such, he has resigned on the Reddit board, urging the company he co-founded to replace him with a black candidate.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “I believe the resignation may actually be an act of leadership by people in power. I say this as a father who must be able to respond to his black daughter when she asks: ‘What have you done? ? “” He continued: “It has long been necessary to do the right thing. I am doing it for myself, for my family and for my country. “
Additionally, Ohanian donated $ 1 million to Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp”, a campaign to raise awareness of self-empowerment. Ohanian says quarterback Kaepernick, who was the first prominent athlete to take a knee to protest police brutality, is a friend.
While major social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all say they are intolerant of offensive hate speech on their platforms, all are accused of not doing enough to stop it.
Ohanian feels that change is coming soon, whether he likes it or not.
He told CNN that he funded a company called Sentropy that is building artificial intelligence to help curb such hatred and harassment, “because humans alone can’t moderate it. We’ll need software to ease the burden.”
He says Premier League players, in particular, appear to be targeted for this type of abuse, and artificial intelligence tools are now being created that will allow consumers to control what they will see.
“The best thing, of course, would be to work directly with the platforms. But they have different speeds to adopt a technology like this.”
In the meantime, he predicts that consumers will invariably be drawn to smaller social media networks, which rely on shared community interest, “Users are absolutely done with that toxicity.
“The vast majority of people actually have better things to do and are better human beings than that. [But] because of this technology, it is very, very possible for a small number of people to have an outsized impact; they are capable of doing a lot of damage and creating a lot of problems. “
The conversation turns back to sports, and although Ohanian has always been a huge NFL and NBA fan, he makes a surprising confession about the sport Serena dominated: “I hated tennis until I met my wife, so I’m a quick learner. !
“As a lifelong sports fan and then someone who has a front row seat [see] what it really takes, I have a new appreciation for how intense it is.
“I thought we had worked hard in the field of technology. I really did. I naively thought, ‘Oh, we are the toughest job industry,’ which is a total farce. What professional athletes do mentally and physically, day after day, it’s just another level. “
Future tennis star?
At 37, Ohanian still has many years ahead of him; but if he’s going to change the world for his daughter, he’s already set his sights on the calendar, “I’m 16, give or take, to have enough of an impact,” she told CNN.
What remains to be seen is the kind of role Olympia will want to play when she eventually comes of age. Will she be an athlete, a tech star, an investor or an entrepreneur?
“I’d like my daughter to become CEO and founder of a startup,” she says, adding that any career could and should be on the table.
“I wish she were a professional athlete. Serena admits that when she sees Olympia running with a soccer ball, having fun playing with me, she gets a little jealous. But don’t worry, Olympia is really great with a racket too.”
Alexis Ohanian is a successful man who has found himself living in a world of women; as an investor in ‘Angel City’, he is practically a strange man and – despite Forbes’ estimate that his net worth in 2019 was $ 70 million – he is not the main breadwinner at home. And it suits him absolutely.
“I can see the impact that Serena and [her sister] Venus has so many people all over the world, and it’s humbling. “
Meanwhile, his association with the Williams family has also changed the way the world views him.
“Ten years ago, I was stopped for being ‘the Reddit guy’ and that made me feel nice. And then, a few years later, people were throwing their startups at me because they knew I was investing and that sounded nice to me, ” But then, a few years ago, people started yelling at me, “Alexis, I love your wife!” And, you know, of course that’s a good feeling too. “
For young Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., at least, the future is in good hands.
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