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A new pro volleyball team wants in on San Francisco’s women’s sports boom

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A new pro volleyball team wants in on San Francisco’s women’s sports boom


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Kelsey Robinson Cook is one of the most decorated American volleyball players of all time. An icon of the sport — a standout. Yet in her everyday life, she’s used to blending in.

That all changed the moment she stepped inside Rikki’s, a women’s sports bar in the Castro, where volleyball fans instantly recognized the three-time Olympic medalist.

It’s that enthusiastic, deep-rooted, and still-under-cover local passion for the sport that led League One Volleyball (LOVB) to bet on San Francisco. A new professional women’s sports franchise, LOVB SF is following Bay FC and the Golden State Valkyries into the market in January 2027. 

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“We have the bold ambition to be the Bay Area’s next great sports team,” newly appointed team president Stephanie Martin told The Standard.

After witnessing a Bay Area-based NWSL team and WNBA franchise launch in back-to-back years to record attendance numbers and instant cultural relevance, big aspirations are the norm amid a local women’s sports boom.

With roughly a year to go before LOVB SF takes the court, Martin, who also joined the team’s women-led ownership group, will spearhead the buildout of the franchise. With 15-plus years working in the local sports scene, Martin led marketing efforts for the 2013 America’s Cup and Super Bowl 50 and joined the LOVB executive team in 2023 before moving into her role with the San Francisco franchise in January.

Bay FC and the Valkyries set a lofty precedent, but they also offer a credible blueprint for Martin’s team to follow.

“Both of those organizations really understood that you want to be a part of the community first. You want to listen and engage with the community early,” said Martin, who is already planning a team-naming contest and a mascot-creation competition to engage local fans.

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Martin has sought advice from Valkyries president Jess Smith and Bay FC’s Founding Four (Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner are all members of LOVB’s ownership group), who all knew the market was underserved. 

“There has been such a demand for women’s sports here for so long that this fanbase is unparalleled,” Martin said. “It’s incredible to see it skyrocket.” 

As LOVB SF’s ownership group sees it, the case for professional volleyball in San Francisco has already been written — just as it was for soccer and basketball. 

The Bay Area has one of the strongest volleyball cultures in the country, anchored by Stanford’s dynasty (10 NCAA championships) and bolstered by successful programs at Saint Mary’s, the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Cal. Youth volleyball clubs dot every corner of the region and adult recreational leagues fill courts across the city. By LOVB SF’s estimate, around 300,000 people play adult recreational volleyball in the Bay Area. 

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A woman in a dark double-breasted blazer stands by a waterfront railing with a large suspension bridge and clear sky in the background.
Stephanie Martin was appointed LOVB SF’s team president in January. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard

The team could host games anywhere, but LOVB SF is committed to playing matches inside San Francisco city limits.

“San Francisco is a place where volleyball has a really robust community already,” Martin said. “It’s a community that already cares about volleyball, understands it, understands the values of what it stands for.” 

The team is scouting venues, targeting an arena that can hold 3,000 fans with the hope of growing into a larger, permanent home over time. 

“You go to a Valkyries game and it’s the best time you could have. Bay FC games, same thing. It’s inviting, welcoming, and it’s a party. Those are the experiences we want to create,” Martin said. 

As easy as Bay FC and the Valkyries might have made it look, launching a franchise and building a fan base is daunting. For Martin’s crew, it’ll be soup to nuts each day until the first match in 11 months. And for LOVB SF, there’s an added challenge.

If the NWSL and WNBA are young, 12 and 29 years old, respectively, then LOVB is a newborn. Only in its second season, LOVB doesn’t have an established fanbase. It does, however, have a media rights package that places matches on ESPN and USA Network and a content hub within Victory+, a streaming service that also airs NWSL games.

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Without stars with household names — an element that has propelled both the WNBA and NWSL to massive recent growth — Martin and the ownership group know the lack of awareness around players represents LOVB SF’s biggest hurdle. That’s why they’re hosting weekly LOVB watch parties at Rikki’s and eager to connect future players with local youth clubs.

Martin is also confident that once people experience the action live, selling the product will be easy. Volleyball, she says, is uniquely electric because it’s fast-paced, highlight-heavy, and dramatic. Olympic viewership backs that up, too, as volleyball consistently ranks among the most-watched events. 

To thrive in San Francisco and beyond, LOVB also must outpace its competitors as it’s one of three pro domestic volleyball leagues, in addition to the Pro Volleyball Federation and Athletes Unlimited. LOVB views its club-to-pro model as a differentiating quality that can make the league sustainable. 

Several players came up through LOVB-affiliated clubs, training in the same gyms where they now compete at the highest level. The organization also works with high school athletes and their families to demystify recruiting, NIL deals, and career pathways in the sport, all to make volleyball feel less like a dead end and more like a viable profession. 

That philosophy carries into how LOVB compensates players, who earn base salaries of $60,000, receive year-round healthcare, and live in housing provided by the league during the season. 

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“One of the things that gets me fired up is being part of a team that’s owned by women who have done it in their spaces … it’s going to create an environment that athletes want to play in, be a part of, and feel loyal to — to start and end their careers in San Francisco,” Robinson Cook, who played pro volleyball abroad for more than 12 years and is part of LOVB SF’s ownership group, said.

If LOVB SF succeeds, the next generation of local volleyball stars will be able to spend their entire careers in the United States. And it won’t just be Rikki’s where the top players are treated like celebrities. 



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San Francisco voters to decide on dueling measures on Top Executive Pay Tax changes

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San Francisco voters to decide on dueling measures on Top Executive Pay Tax changes


San Francisco voters weighed in Tuesday on two competing measures that seek to change the Top Executive Pay Tax, with one of the measures also including a change to the Gross Receipts Tax.

Should both measures pass, the one with the most votes will take effect, according to the propositions’ legal text.

Currently, the measures state that most businesses with San Francisco gross receipts up to $5 million are exempt from the Gross Receipts Tax. And businesses that use more than half of their city payroll for in-house administrative and management services pay an Administrative Office Tax instead of a Gross Receipts Tax.

The Top Executive Pay Tax is a tax some large businesses pay if their highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median pay of their San Francisco employees. Businesses that have city gross receipts up to $5 million and are not subject to the Administrative Office Tax are exempt.

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Proposition C

Proposition C states it would increase the number of businesses that could be exempt from the Gross Receipts Tax and would stop any further increases to the “Top Executive Pay Tax” after a final rate bump.

The proposed measure says it would raise the Gross Receipts Tax exemption ceiling to $7.5 million. The $7.5 million ceiling would also apply to the Top Executive Pay Tax exemption.

As for changes to the Top Executive Pay Tax, Proposition C states it would implement the 2028 tax rate increase in 2027, but then stop any future increases.

Supporting Proposition C are Rodney Fong, CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Chris Wright, senior vice president of Advance SF, an organization of companies, which includes Bank of America, OpenAI, Waymo, the SF Giants CEO and others.

Fong and Wright, in their argument for the measure, say giving businesses more tax breaks would help keep more employees on payroll and would give companies the ability to “contribute to city services in a predictable and balanced way.”

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Critics of Proposition C, such as the San Francisco Tenants Union, slam the measure as “billionaire-backed” and argue it would kill the Top Executive Pay Tax and would hand out more tax breaks to businesses at a time when the city is in a budget deficit and faces cuts to essential services.

Proposition D

Proposition D also seeks to change the Top Executive Pay Tax, which is collected from some large businesses where the highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median compensation paid to other employees.

If approved, the measure would change the calculation of the tax using the compensation of all employees, not just employees based in San Francisco. Top Executive Pay Tax rates would also be increased for San Francisco gross receipts and payroll.

Supporters have billed the measure as a way to counteract federal cuts to Medicaid. A report by the City Controller’s Office said the measure could result in $250 million to $300 million in additional revenue.

“Proposition D is the solution to our budget deficit. It asks large corporations — not small businesses, not working families — to contribute a little more,” supporters said in the city’s official voter guide.

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The measure has the backing of most of the Board of Supervisors, along with labor unions and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Opponents, including Mayor Daniel Lurie and state Sen. Scott Wiener, have argued Proposition D would negatively impact the city’s recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“San Francisco is already one of the most expensive cities in the country to live and do business. Adding extreme and unpredictable tax increases risks driving employers away just as we are trying to bring jobs, workers, and foot traffic back downtown,” said Supervisor Matt Dorsey in the city’s voter guide.



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San Francisco ‘adult supremacy’ workshop brands teachers as oppressors — as fringe trend spreads in California schools

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San Francisco ‘adult supremacy’ workshop brands teachers as oppressors — as fringe trend spreads in California schools


A San Francisco public school reportedly hosted a workshop on “adult supremacy” — a new woke trend labeling teachers and adults “oppressors” that’s quietly gaining traction in California.

The confab, held at John O’Connell High School during an “Ethnic Studies Everywhere” weekend seminar in April, was titled “Youth as Knowledge Producers: Challenging Adult Supremacy Through Ethnic Studies,” according to an attendee who spoke with The Post.

“Due to systemic power dynamics inherently the relationship between students and educators is an oppressive one. Oppressor (educator) & oppressed (student),” a presentation slide explained.

Maria Su, superintendent SFUSD, speaks at a press conference. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The workshop was led by Jennifer Sanchez, a third-year ethnic studies educator in the Central Valley, and convened by Teachers 4 Social Justice, a nonprofit that aims to create “empowering learning environments, more equitable access to resources and power, and realizing a just and caring culture,” according to its website.

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Teachers 4 Social Justice was founded by local teacher activist Jeremiah Jeffries, who led an unpopular push to rename public schools during the pandemic that was abandoned after sparking outrage from local parents.

So-called adult supremacy “constructs adults as developed, mature, intelligent, and experienced, based solely on their age and ensures that adults control the resources and make the decisions in society,” the presentation further explained.

Success “within the Western context” is “demanding, overwhelming, and dehumanizing,” the presentation claimed.

Jackson Matos’ work is cited in “adultism.” Jackson Matos

Friends of Lowell Foundation, which advocates for academic merit at San Francisco schools, compiled the “adult supremacy” slides.

Another slide obtained by The Post cited the work of academic Jackson Matos, who is mentioned as connecting “adultism” to cultural imperialism, marginalization, exploitation, powerlessness and violence.

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“We have knowledge and life experience, and it is our job as parents and teachers to impart information on the next generation, on our kids,” one flabbergasted San Francisco parent, who asked not to be named, told The Post.

“Given that a large percentage of students in the district do not meet grade level standards in ELA and math, our focus as a school district is clearly way off track,” the parent said.

A presentation slide titled “Adultism Continued” defining adult supremacy and discussing power dynamics between students and educators. SFUSD

Friends of Lowell Foundation has taken legal action surrounding the school district’s controversial “ethnic studies” curriculum, which was made a one-year requirement for high school freshman this year.

The San Francisco teachers’ group isn’t the only organization blaming “adultism” for society’s failures.

Adam Fletcher is a consultant who counts California school boards and agencies among his clients. He’s made “adultism” a centerpiece of equity training aimed at teachers.

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Adam Fletcher has made “adultism” a centerpiece of equity training aimed at teachers. Adam Fletcher

“Adultism, as an idea, is bias towards adults,” Fletcher said in an online seminar held by TEACH Los Angeles, an educators’ network funded through grants from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, per its YouTube page.

A slide from a presentation on “Adultism” defines it as a bias towards adults. TEACH Los Angeles

Likewise, the Oakland Youth Commission announced last year a training for city employees about adultism, which is blamed for taking power away from kids, according to slides published online.

The Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department sponsored an “anti-oppression training series” that explores how “ageism and adultism” fuel discrimination.

“Participants consider how the myth of independence, rooted in settler colonial capitalism, contributes to the marginalization of youth & elders by diminishing agency, excluding perspectives, & reinforcing stereotypes in behavioral health practice,” an invitation read.

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Three children acting out a scene during a seminar on “adultism.” Instagram/oakyac

San Francisco Unified School District didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The district may be in hot water over its ethnic studies program, with Superintendent Maria Su due to appear at a June 10 congressional hearing about parents’ rights and “inappropriate content” in schools.



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Live From Microsoft Build 2026 San Francisco

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Live From Microsoft Build 2026 San Francisco


We’re attending Microsoft’s annual Build Conference in person, covering all the Windows announcements, demos, and surprises. AI is sure to be a huge focus, and we might get some more details on the latest Surface hardware. Stay tuned for all the Build news as it happens.



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