How Visibility Boosts Women’s Sports—and Mental Health

Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman is ten toes behind U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles. 

“I think what is happening is just so unfair,” the 30-year-old said during a panel on women’s sports at the TIME Women’s Leadership Forum in New York City on Tuesday, speaking about the controversial decision to strip Chiles of her 2024 Paris bronze medal. “I think that Jordan deserves to have answers as to who is [and] how they’re overruling this. And so I am just totally devastated and gutted for her.”

“The IOC has given out more than one medal before, and they should do that now,” added Raisman, who was a 2019 TIME 100 Next honoree. Chiles appeared to move from fifth to third place in the individual floor exercise after an inquiry was submitted regarding her score. But days later the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided to return Chiles’ original score, ruling that the inquiry wasn’t filed on time. (USA Gymnastics is still embroiled in an appeal process.)  

The conversation about Chiles came as part of a broader discussion, moderated by TIME senior editor Lucy Feldman, with NBC Sports host and producer Maria Taylor, managing partner of women’s sports investment fund Monarch Collective and co-founder of Angel City Football Club Kara Nortman, and former U.S. women’s soccer player Ashlyn Harris, who touched on the need for greater investment into female sports—which is currently valued at $1.28 billion, a 300% increase from three years prior.

Panelists noted that the landscape of women’s sports has been changing due to increasing visibility. The Paris 2024 Olympics, Taylor said, were a great example of the value female athletes can bring to primetime television. “If you go back and watch [NBC’s] coverage, and even say, track and field, the stars you’re walking away with were going to be Sha’Carri [Richardson]. We knew who Gabby Thomas was,” Taylor said. “It’s more about having the opportunity to be in that slot than it is about whether or not people will watch.”

Mental health has also gotten increased attention. In the initial aftermath of the medal controversy, Chiles originally stated on Instagram that she was removing herself from social media for her mental health. Female athletes overall have reported greater mental health struggles. A National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2022 study found that female athletes reported higher rates of overwhelm, sleep difficulty, mental exhaustion, sadness, and anxiety than male athletes. 

Harris, who in July went public with her own mental health struggles during her public divorce from former teammate Ali Krieger, spoke about how sharing personal stories are pivotal to moving the needle forward. “I’m very open and honest when I’m struggling and things are hard,” Harris said. “If we are going to survive this, we need each other, so we have to start leaning in.”

The TIME100 Women's Leadership Forum was presented by Barbie, Deloitte, and ŌURA.