When Assia Grazioli-Venier first invested in the Washington Spirit back in 2020, the NWSL club was valued at roughly $5 million. Fast forward just four years, and that figure has skyrocketed to an estimated $215 million—a jaw-dropping 4,200% increase. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident, and at the center of this transformation is Michele Kang's dramatic takeover, a move that Grazioli-Venier now calls one of her proudest career moments.
The road to Kang's majority control wasn't exactly smooth. In 2022, she acquired the club in a $35 million deal from then-owner Steve Baldwin, following a period of serious turmoil. The Spirit had been rocked by allegations against former coach Richie Burke, who was ultimately removed and banned from the NWSL after an investigation. The scandal wasn't isolated either—just months earlier, then-commissioner Lisa Baird had resigned over similar issues involving the North Carolina Courage.
"A change needed to happen. And it's not personal to Steve," Grazioli-Venier, cofounder of Muse Capital and Muse Sport, explained on a recent episode of *Portfolio Players*. "There were a lot of bad things happening at the NWSL then. Luckily, what was happening on our side was not even remotely close to any of the sexual harassment stuff, thank god. But when I heard that things weren't being run properly, I remember thinking, 'Not on my watch.'"
Grazioli-Venier played a key role in advocating for Kang, pushing back against those who questioned her lack of experience in professional sports. "I was like, if you use that narrative, then there's no woman that's ever going to own a sports team," she said. "And here you've got an incredibly powerful woman with plenty of capital, and passion, and interest, who suddenly went from not knowing anything about sports to knowing everything, who wants to do it and is crazy enough to go all in. And so, no, she doesn't need a male counterpart to get this shit done."
Interestingly, there had been some discussion of having Kang team up with Todd Boehly—the co-owner of Chelsea, the Dodgers, and the Lakers. But in the end, Kang went solo, and the results speak for themselves. The Spirit's valuation has soared, and the club is now a prime example of how new leadership and bold vision can transform not just a team, but an entire league's perception of what's possible.