Five-time NBA champion Earvin “Magic” Johnson is the newest investor in the Washington Spirit, the National Women’s Soccer League team announced on Thursday.

“I’m excited to join the Washington Spirit’s investor group at such a pivotal time in the club’s history,” Johnson said in a statement.

“Partnering with a visionary like Michele Kang and her team to advance the growth of the Washington Spirit and the NWSL is an incredible opportunity. I’m excited to join the team and play my part to help elevate this organization.”

Johnson, 65, starred for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1980 to 1996, winning five NBA titles and three MVP awards. He was a 12-time All-Star and was named by the NBA as one of the 50 greatest players in league history upon his retirement. In recent years, Johnson has entered the sports business space, investing in multiple teams.

Kang has been the Spirit’s principal owner since early 2022, when she bought the team for $35 million, which was an NWSL record at the time and about 10 times the valuation of a different NWSL franchise sale two years earlier.

The Spirit had just won the 2021 NWSL championship amid a tumultuous season that included the ousting of former head coach Richie Burke amid allegations of abuse. Amid their run to a championship, players publicly called for former majority owner Steve Baldwin to sell the team. Kang was a minority owner at the time.

NWSL team valuations have skyrocketed since Kang’s takeover, with the NWSL record for team valuation falling multiple times this year. The July acquisition of Angel City FC by Willow Bay and Bob Iger (CEO of Disney, the parent company of ESPN) set a new bar with a $250 million valuation.

The sale of Los Angeles-based Angel City continued the trend of an influx of billionaires into the NWSL, a marked change from its humble launch as an eight-team league in 2013. The NWSL is expected to name its 16th team later this year.

Johnson is the chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, which also holds partial ownership in the Washington Commanders (NFL), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), LAFC (MLS) and eSports franchise Team Liquid.

“It is a great honor to welcome Earvin to the Washington Spirit today. From the basketball court to the boardroom, Earvin knows how to win, and we are delighted to count on his expertise as part of our fantastic investor group,” Kang said in a statement.

“His commitment not only reflects the strength of our club, players, fans and brand, but also sends a powerful message about the growth and impact of women’s sports globally. Together, we look forward to taking the Washington Spirit to new heights and inspiring the next generation of young women and girls worldwide.”

The Spirit did not disclose terms of Johnson’s investment.

Under Kang, the Spirit has grown from a club that averaged just over 4,000 fans in 2021 to one averaging nearly 14,000 fans per game this year.

Kang has since purchased controlling stakes in eight-time European women’s champions Lyon and English second-division side London City Lionesses. She plans to purchase several more clubs on different continents and create a global network to scale resources.

In a starkly personal speech, the Jewish husband of the Democratic presidential nominee told thousands of American Jews on Tuesday night how he felt about Hamas’ murder of six hostages on the verge of freedom.

“Standing on this bimah, I can only be direct: This is hard. I feel raw. I’m gutted,” Doug Emhoff said. “I know you are, too.”

Emhoff was speaking at a vigil held at one of Washington’s preeminent synagogues, Adas Israel Congregation, where he has become a congregant since moving to the city in 2021.

Emhoff emphasized that he was relaying American Jewish grief to his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“How you feel right now is how I feel,” Emhoff said. “And how we all feel is something Kamala hears directly from me.”

Just hours earlier, Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general, announced criminal charges against Hamas and its leadership, spurred by the terrorists’ murder of six hostages over the weekend, including an Israeli American, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. “Hamas’ leaders will pay for these crimes,” Emhoff said.

He related, as he frequently does, that he had not expected his status as the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president to become so central to his identity. He has spearheaded the task force to combat antisemitism that President Joe Biden launched in December of 2022.

He credited Adas Israel’s rabbis, Lauren Holtzblatt and Aaron Alexander, with helping bring him closer to his faith.

“While I’m here as the second gentleman of the United States — and the first-ever Jewish White House principal — in this moment, I’m here as a congregant, as a mourner, as a Jew who feels connected to all of you and grateful for the guidance of our wonderful rabbis, Aaron and Lauren,” he said. “They have become confidants and advisors. We’ve talked a lot about my own faith journey — something Kamala has encouraged in me. Among the many things they helped me find was my voice.”

Harris’ campaign is aggressively courting a Jewish community that has long voted for the party in substantial majorities, but that has been unmoored by increasing criticism of Israel within the Democrats’ progressive wing, accelerating as Israel wages the war Hamas launched last Oct. 7 with its cross-border attack.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has said his affinity for Israel makes him the better candidate for Jews, and is set to make his case for the Jewish vote on Thursday at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, where he will appear by satellite. The RJC billed his speech as Trump speaking “not only to the RJC’s leadership gathered in Las Vegas this week but to the entire American Jewish community.”

Hours before he spoke, Emhoff appeared in an online forum launching Jewish Voters for Harris-Walz, which the campaign had said would work to “reach Jewish voters and emphasize Vice President Harris’ long track record of unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, fighting the scourge of antisemitism, and supporting Jewish values.” 

The event Tuesday night overflowed the 1,700-seat sanctuary; organizers estimated there were 2,000 people in attendance. Rabbis and cantors representing all religious streams from across the Washington metropolitan area attended and crowded the bimah at the end to join in singing “Acheinu,” an ancient song pleading for the release of captives.

The evening focused entirely on freeing the 100 or so hostages remaining captive but, except for a single reference, did not mention the preeminent demand of the hostages’ families in Israel: that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a deal brokered by the Biden administration to end the war and free the captives. Protesters brought Israel to a standstill on Monday in pressing for a deal.

Leat Corinne Unger, whose 21-year-old cousin Omer Shem Tov remains captive, said it was time to close the deal. “We need to seal this deal and bring Omer and the rest of our brothers and sisters home. We no longer have time to waste,” she said. “Let’s make sure we don’t have to apologize to another hostage or family.”

A number of those in attendance said they did not feel it was their place to insert themselves into Israeli politics, and that it was more incumbent on them to explain the plight of the hostages to the broader American public.

“We can keep the hostages in the conscience of Americans, that Americans understand the story of the hostages affects more than just Jews,” said Julie Powell, 58, a licensed clinical social worker.

Julie Soforenko, 39, said she is always attentive to non-Jews who ask her about the war.

“I think it’s important for Jewish people to keep engaging with people who are not Jewish,” Soforenko, a staffer for a Jewish nonprofit, said before the event started. “I’m so grateful that they would feel comfortable asking me and then listening to my answer.”

Bethune had successful surgery to repair torn meniscus

Washington, D.C. (09/04/2024) – Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune has been placed on the season-ending injury (SEI) list and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season as she rehabs a knee injury, the club announced today. Bethune suffered a torn meniscus away from training last week and will remain with the team throughout her recovery, working closely with the Spirit Performance, Medical and Innovation department.

Bethune had a standout rookie season for the Spirit, recording five goals and ten assists in just 17 matches. Her ten assists is an all-time NWSL single season record, matching Tobin Heath’s NWSL single season record set in 2016, a mark Bethune equaled in a span of just 12 matches. In the Spirit’s home opener this season, Bethune introduced herself to the DC fans with a second half stoppage time winner against Bay FC. Less than three months later, she tallied another result-changing score, finding the back of the net in the final minute of stoppage time to draw San Diego in front of a Spirit club record 19,897 fans.

Bethune was named both the NWSL Rookie of the Month and as part of the Best XI of the Month three consecutive times to start her career, earning the honors for her performance in March/April, May and June competition. She also became the first player in league history to win Rookie of the Month in back-to-back months.

The third overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft also made her debut at the senior international level this year. Because of her impressive rookie campaign, new U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) Head Coach Emma Hayes called Bethune in for the team’s June camp before naming her an alternate for the U.S. Olympic roster. Bethune played in her first match for the USWNT on Saturday, July 13 in a friendly against Mexico and was selected to the side’s matchday roster for each of its three Olympic group stage matches, earning her a gold medal.

About The Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. In 2024, the Spirit drafted an epic class of rookies who are already breaking records and wowing fans. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.