WASHINGTON (AP) — When Meghan Sells heads to Providence Park to watch Oregon's professional women's soccer team, she finds herself among a fairly mixed crowd — groups of young women, dads bringing their children, youth players checking out the Thorns' latest match.
The physician’s assistant is a self-described lifelong sports fan and former softball player who “will watch any sport.” That includes both collegiate and professional sports for women, putting Sells squarely in a fan base that suddenly has more options than ever before and is seen as fertile ground for teams and advertisers eager to ride the rising interest in the women’s game.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults follow women’s professional or college sports “extremely,” "very” or “somewhat” closely, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That's lower than the share who follow men's sports by the same measurements — about half — but it also shows that Sells is far from alone.
As interest and investment in women’s sports have picked up in recent years, so have the entry points for fans. The meteoric rise of Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa phenom-turned-WNBA star, helped bring wider attention to women's basketball, and increased streaming availability, international success and name, image and likeness deals have elevated the value and viewership of women's sports.
“Growing up, I feel like the only sports I was able to really see on TV were men’s — which is fine, I like men’s sports,” Sells said. “But I enjoy watching women’s sports more. ... I think the more that you see it on TV, the more you’re going to have younger people interested in it.”
The poll found that women's sports fans — those who follow women's sports at least “somewhat” closely — are different from men's sports fans. Fans of women’s sports, while not a majority-female group, are more gender balanced than men’s sports fans. Those who follow women's pro sports also are more casual in their fandom than men's pro sports fans, tending to say they attend or watch games occasionally rather than frequently. People who follow men's sports, by contrast, are more likely to identify attachments to teams as opposed to players.
The survey was conducted just before the start of the 2025 WNBA season, an expansion year for the league. Coming off a season in which attendance records were set (and reset ), the league will debut a new franchise — the Golden State Valkyries — and up the number of regular season games from 40 to 44.
In 2026, two additional teams will join the league, including one in Portland, Oregon. Sells, who's been in the city for about a decade, said she is prepared to get season tickets.
Men’s sports at both the collegiate and professional levels remain more popular than women’s sports, the poll found. About one-third of U.S. adults said they watch, listen to or read about men’s collegiate sports at least “somewhat” closely, and more than 4 in 10 say they follow men’s pro sports. By contrast, about 2 in 10 say they follow women's collegiate sports at least “somewhat” closely, and a similar share say they follow women’s pro sports.
A greater share of men than women say they follow professional or collegiate sports overall, but the gender balance was more even among women's sports fans. Around half of fans of women’s sports are male, the survey found, compared with about two-thirds of fans of men’s sports.
This could be in part due to the overlap between the fandoms: About 90% of U.S. adults who follow women’s sports at least “somewhat” closely also say the same about men’s sports, though about half of people who follow men’s sports said they also followed women’s sports.
As women’s sports increase in popularity and accessibility, a relatively large share are casual fans. While close to 9 in 10 of both men’s and women’s pro sports fans say they frequently or occasionally watch, listen to or read about their respective professional sports, a higher percentage of women’s sports fans say they are only occasional consumers.
That includes people like Matthew Behr, 58, a lifelong fan of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers in his home state of Wisconsin. He doesn’t watch a lot of basketball, he said, but when the sport crosses into news coverage, he will read up on it.
That’s how he started following Clark, whose final seasons at Iowa were credited with bringing new viewers to the sport and who now plays for the Indiana Fever.
“I was seeing it on MSNBC,” he said. “I don’t watch a lot of basketball. It’s not a men’s and women’s thing. If she was playing in a women’s football league, I’d probably watch that.”
Men’s sports — with larger leagues, bigger TV deals and a more expansive media ecosystem — have a more fervent audience. About two-thirds of men’s sports fans said they “frequently” or “occasionally” attend a professional sporting event in person, compared with roughly half of women’s sports fans.
One possible reason women’s sports fans aren’t showing up at sporting events is they’re less likely to be attached to a specific team. Only about one-third of women’s sports fans said the teams they support or follow are “extremely” or “very” important to why they follow the sport. For men’s fans, the figure was around 50%.
However, nearly identical shares of men’s and women’s sports fans said that certain athletes they support were at least “very” important to why they follow women’s sports.
Bernard Seltzer, a high school administrator and math and science teacher in Tampa, Florida, considers himself a general sports fan and said he enjoys watching the most skillful athletes, regardless of their gender. Even at the high school level, he is impressed by the finesse he sees female athletes demonstrate.
“Sometimes it’s more impressive than watching masculine people banging their heads against the wall,” he said.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts to a fan during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
