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Speak with Sport: Women's Sports Foundation gala to stream on Yahoo Sports

The biggest night in women’s sports is almost here, and for the first time ever it’s available for everyone to see.

The Women’s Sports Foundation’s Annual Salute to Women in Sports is happening on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. ET, and while COVID-19 has forced the gala online, it will now be broadcast live and free on Yahoo Sports.

There could not be a better time to salute women in sports. Between COVID-19 and the renewed push for equality following the numerous Black Lives Matter protests around the country, 2020 has been a tumultuous year, but women athletes have been leading the way. That’s why the theme of this year’s gala is “Speak with Sport,” celebrating the women athletes and leaders who have been using their platform to demand equality and justice for all — both inside and outside of sports.

The Women’s Sports Foundation will be giving out three awards on Wednesday night, to people who have put the fight for equality front and center in their work. The players of the WNBA will be given the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award for dedicating their season to racial and social justice. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians will be given the Champion for Equality award for assembling one of the most gender-diverse staffs in football. Former Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns will be given the Billie Jean King Leadership Award for breaking gender and racial barriers as the first Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company.

The three awards are just one part of the Annual Salute, which will be hosted by four-time undefeated world boxing champion Laila Ali. Many other people from the sports sphere will be there to celebrate, like Buccaneers quarterback and six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, WNBA champion and MVP Candace Parker, two-time World Cup champion and record-breaker Carli Lloyd, and Natalie Portman, the Academy Award-winning actress who just became part-owner of Angel City, the newest team in the National Women’s Soccer League.

And of course, WSF founder Billie Jean King will be there. She’ll be part of a special tribute to the “Original 9,” the nine women who 50 years ago risked their tennis careers to start their own tour in the name of equality.

To watch, bookmark the link here.

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