Sports have never been more intertwined with pop culture than they are today.
Many athletes throughout history have transcended sports-world fame to become global, mainstream pop-culture icons. But today, modern sports sit directly at the intersection of fashion, music, film, and television by design for greater cultural and commercial impact — and Black women are leaders of this cultural reset.
MUSIC
Flau’jae gets the best of both worlds
Flau’jae is one of the most powerful multihyphenates in women’s sports. The Seattle Storm hooper-and-rapper is signed with Roc Nation and has released three full-length studio albums; her latest project, The Flaumix Tape, dropped in February 2026 to critical acclaim.
Kehlani has always poured into the W
Grammy-winner Kehlani performed at AT&T’s Women’s Final Four concert in Phoenix in March 2026, a headliner slot that has been filled by Black women artists for four consecutive years, with GloRilla in 2025, Latto in 2024, and Saweetie in 2023. When she performed at the WNBA All-Star Halftime in 2023, Kehlani expressed her desire for the W to have a team in her hometown: the Bay Area. It was only right, then, that the Golden State Valkyries tapped the “Folded” singer to narrate their name and logo reveal in 2024.
TV & FILM
Angel Reese’s crossover into scripted TV
In October 2025, Angel Reese made her feature film debut in Netflix’s House of Dynamite, making a cameo as herself. In January 2026, Netflix announced that Reese would make her official acting debut in The Hunting Wives season 2 in a recurring, scripted role.
Chiney Ogwumike’s production company
WNBA legend and ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike founded her own production company, Victorious, in 2025. According to Deadline, Victorious’s first project is the current development of a scripted comedy series for Peacock titled The W, based on the WNBA. The W will be helmed by showrunners Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive, the creators of Netflix’s GLOW, and executive produced by Ogwumike.
FASHION
Black women athletes are fashion favorites
The cover line of January 2025’s Winter Issue of American Vogue boldly read: “When Sports Met Fashion.” The issue featured two alternate covers, one starring WNBA star Angel Reese and another starring track and field Olympian Gabby Thomas. Reese made history with this issue, becoming the first WNBA player to ever cover Vogue solo.
(Fun fact! The first female athlete to ever cover American Vogue solo was a Black woman: track and field star Marion Jones in 2001. And before May 2026’s digital cover of tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, the only athletes with solo Vogue covers were Black women: Reese, Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Serena Williams.)
Later in 2025, Angel Reese became the first-ever professional athlete to walk the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway. And the momentum doesn’t stop there. Black women athletes continue to consistently break barriers in fashion — at the 2026 Met Gala, the majority of female athletes in attendance were Black women.
FRIENDSHIP
Black female friendship is the foundation
There’s nothing that “grows the game” more than raw talent and wide visibility, and Black women athletes are providing the raw talent, while their famous friends who show out in the stands to support them — also Black women — provide the extra star-powered visibility.
Celebrity row and Jumbotron callouts at any women’s sporting event will reveal that, often, Black women are coming out to watch and support another Black woman.
Mainstays at W games include Alicia Keys, Issa Rae, Jennifer Hudson, Leslie Jones, Coco Gauff, Wanda Sykes, Jessica Williams, and Teyana Taylor.
Jordan Chiles’s final home meet of her collegiate career at UCLA in March 2026 could have been mistaken for a red carpet event: her friends Keke Palmer, Winnie Harlow, Normani, Olandria Carthen, Dominique Loude, Chloe Bailey, and Lexie Brown all came out to show their favorite senior love.
Long-term friendships between Chiles and Normani, Serena Williams and Beyoncé, and Megan Thee Stallion and Simone Biles are evidence that Black women will form support systems across industries and culture with zero hesitation. This is because Black women hold shared experiences, shared struggles, and shared truths, three things that shape identity and are only amplified by fame. They lean on one another and, in turn, lead culture together.
What’s really powering sports’ modern pop culture-crossover? Star-studded sisterhoods between Black women — because Black women are the ones who define culture, period.
MEET KAITLYN MCNAB
Kaitlyn McNab is a contributing writer for TOGETHXR.com and an award-winning culture reporter and editor. Her creative mission is to celebrate and articulate diverse experiences across all narrative mediums.
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