Does Wie seek to change the face of sports (and not just women’s sports)?
Obviously, the decision by Michelle Wie to turn pro within the next few weeks is big news for women’s golf. But, catching my eye in the story about her decision are these passages suggesting that Wie might aspire to a lot more than just becoming an icon in women’s sports:
Tweet[Wie] also will enlist the services of the William Morris Agency to secure further commercial endorsements and guide her pro career, shunning traditional golf-management companies and suggesting her long-term aspirations may involve transcending the game as much as dominating it….
Wie’s alignment with William Morris formalizes a relationship that began seven or eight years ago, according to an insider, although the agency has no prior experience in representing pro golfers and has struggled in previous partnerships with athletes. By signing with a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based image machine known for its roots in the entertainment industry — Clint Eastwood, John Travolta and Heidi Klum are among William Morris’ more notable clients — Wie continues to defy any conventional mold. Of course, such iconoclastic vitality has become one of the Hawaiian teenager’s strongest marketing assets.
