By Josh Davis
“I’m not gonna worry about the fact that there things that I don’t know because I’m gonna go out and learn them”
Dany Garcia
This is the mindset that helped Dany Garcia become the first female owner of a major sports league.
Recently Sports Illustrated did a story on Garcia in their series called “The Unrelenting”, which highlights powerful women in sports. Even before she became part owner of the league this described Dany.
In high school, Dany ran track, and competed in the long jump, when she arrived at the University of Miami, she joined the women’s Crew (rowing) team.
Since then, she’s became a professional body builder, on top of everything else she has accomplished in her life.
Starting out of college as a financial consultant at Merrill-Lynch, Garcia has been in the middle of the “the old boy’s club” for most of her adulthood.
“All of my career has been in male-dominated industries. I’m breaking through all of these biases that exist, just in the first handshake.”
Dany Garcia
Part of that bias, has been her previous marriage to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Since their split, she’s had to navigate through her business life as the ex-wife.
But the fact is, after her time at Merrill-Lynch, Dany went on to start a her own wealth management company, then started managing The Rock, and onto her Holdings group, The Garcia Companies. Which at the moment, she sits as Chairperson/CEO of 12 companies.
Successfully managing companies and brands for as long as she has, it brings with it the type of knack for what’s hot, and how to best go about making it successful.
That’s why her vision, and prep work is what led to Johnson and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital to join in on the XFL. And she has major plans for the league.
Those ideas include expansion, but not just the amount of teams. She says, “The XFL is a league of culture, it’s not just about us owners.”
By that, she means making sure that every voice is heard, every opportunity is seized, and every chance to get better, taken.
On VICE TV’s Stick to Sports, Garcia addressed what that really means in her own life:
“I didn’t set out to be the first woman who owns a major sports league. But I did set out to follow something I was very passionate about, and be a LEADER, in the execution of that passion.”
Dany Garcia
It’s that belief right there that got her where she is today, and why every fan of the XFL should be on the edge of their seats waiting to see what they have for us next.
Even though we won’t see players on the field until 2022, we do know that they have begun talking to the cities that had teams in 2020, to get things rolling for the next season.
Dany Garcia talks about injuring her leg, celebrating the purchase of the XFL
In the meantime, we know the owners want to set new standards in innovation, and technology. By doing that, and keeping the fans involved, viewership and attendance should grow as well.
The talk of a “Hard Knock’s”-type show is also in the ether, and with the reach they have in the television industry, the sky’s the limit.
“We cannot be successful and be quiet about it,” Dany says. Well, you’ve got that right. So far, the leader she has shown us she is, we are ready to be as loud as we can along with you.
For the Love of Football.