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StudBudz

Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are WNBA veterans whose careers add up to 15 years in the league. But in 2025, they broke new ground simply by launching a Twitch channel called “StudBudz,” which in just two weeks has already drawn over 10,000 followers. The concept is simple: Williams and Hiedeman sit together, turn on […]

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StudBudz

Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are WNBA veterans whose careers add up to 15 years in the league. But in 2025, they broke new ground simply by launching a Twitch channel called “StudBudz,” which in just two weeks has already drawn over 10,000 followers.

The concept is simple: Williams and Hiedeman sit together, turn on the camera and hang out like two friends, except this time with thousands of people watching through their screens. Whether they’re reacting to WNBA games, interviewing teammates and competitors, or dyeing their hair pink, fans tune in for streams that range from 90 minutes to four hours.

“It just started off with friendship, really. And, you know, we knew about Twitch, so we just thought it would be a good idea for us to get on there. We didn’t know it was gonna, like, blow up that fast,” Hiedeman told Forbes. “There’s so many people on there, but it’s been really fun for us. And me and Courtney have been spending a lot of time together.”

Now teammates on the Minnesota Lynx, Williams and Hiedeman have brought others from the squad on stream, including Alissa Pili, who showed off her singing chops, and Diamond Miller, now a recurring guest. But the vibe isn’t limited to teammates—rivals are joining the fun too.

DiJonai Carrington, a guard-forward with the Dallas Wings, appeared in person from the team hotel during a Lynx road trip. Another time, Marina Mabrey joined via FaceTime.

“Honestly, we’ve been, we’ve been getting a lot of support, and I think a lot of players want to come on, so definitely going to have more players and people on in the future and super excited for that,” Hiedeman said.

Players now use social media on their own terms

StudBudz is catching fire at a time when WNBA players are taking greater control of their image and using digital platforms to share real, unfiltered moments. Hiedeman and Williams chose Twitch, but others are leaning into TikTok.

NaLyssa Smith and Carrington often go live on TikTok to casually chat with fans. Kamilla Cardoso has become widely known for her hilarious livestreams, often using wigs and props and clapping back at trolls without hesitation. More recently, Mabrey—already a fan favorite—gained even more reach after spending her offseason with the 3×3 league Unrivaled.

Williams and Hiedeman also played in Unrivaled during the offseason, a league that has leaned heavily on media to amplify both its brand and its athletes’ individual stories. Many players are now carrying those lessons into the WNBA season.

“Content and player storytelling is at the core of Unrivaled, and players have increasingly recognized the power that social media holds when it comes to amplifying their unique personalities off the court,” Unrivaled Chief Content Officer John Learing told Forbes. “It was important for us to give players the platform and resources to lean into their social presence, and it’s been fun to watch them take advantage of the environment Unrivaled created in Miami to continue building their brands in this way.”

For Hiedeman, it’s about knowing how to use social media to your advantage:

“Obviously, the internet could be very good, it could be very bad. So just being seen in a positive light, I think that the internet has given a lot of people opportunities to show who they are off the court, and I think it’s important for you know fans to get to see just not who we are as athletes but as people as well.”

Authenticity at the top of the game

What sets this player-driven content apart is its authenticity. It helps fans connect with players as people, not just athletes. In the case of StudBudz, Williams and Hiedeman highlight a part of the WNBA community that has often been sidelined in mainstream marketing: lesbian “studs,” or women who present in a more masculine way.

But for Hiedeman, it’s not about messaging—it’s just real life.

“I think it’s just who we are, and I think that me and Courtney just embrace who we are as people, who we are as athletes. And I think that’s kind of where the name came from. For sure, we’re just two stud buds hanging out,” she said.

And the visibility is paying off. StudBudz has been picked up by major outlets and women’s sports-focused accounts, proving that the appetite for athlete-led content is strong.

“I feel like we got a lot of support. You know, we were shared on ESPN, Overtime, you know, a couple mentions from the commentators during games, on the Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe podcast,” Hiedeman said. “So definitely a lot of love. And I think people are really enjoying it. So, yeah, the traction is great, and we love it. We’ve been having fun. And again, we just being ourselves.”

With visibility comes opportunity. Twitch offers monetization through its Affiliate and Partner programs, along with features like Subscriptions and Bits. There’s also room for brand sponsorships and cross-promotion, all of which can grow out of the success of a single stream.

And the StudBudz are already thinking ahead.

“I think the future is super bright for us, and exciting. We got merch coming out, everything. So it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be a vibe,” Hiedeman said.

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Boy beaten by football player bullies at Christian summer camp

Yorum Yazma Kuralları Lütfen yorum yaparken veya bir yorumu yanıtlarken aşağıda yer alan yorum yazma kurallarına dikkat ediniz.Türkiye Cumhuriyeti yasalarına aykırı, suç veya suçluyu övme amaçlı yorumlar yapmayınız.Küfür, argo, hakaret içerikli, nefret uyandıracak veya nefreti körükleyecek yorumlar yapmayınız.Irkçı, cinsiyetçi, kişilik haklarını zedeleyen, taciz amaçlı veya saldırgan ifadeler kullanmayınız.Türkçe imla kurallarına ve noktalama işaretlerine uygun cümleler […]

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Boy beaten by football player bullies at Christian summer camp

Yorum Yazma Kuralları

Lütfen yorum yaparken veya bir yorumu yanıtlarken aşağıda yer alan yorum yazma kurallarına dikkat ediniz.
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti yasalarına aykırı, suç veya suçluyu övme amaçlı yorumlar yapmayınız.
Küfür, argo, hakaret içerikli, nefret uyandıracak veya nefreti körükleyecek yorumlar yapmayınız.
Irkçı, cinsiyetçi, kişilik haklarını zedeleyen, taciz amaçlı veya saldırgan ifadeler kullanmayınız.
Türkçe imla kurallarına ve noktalama işaretlerine uygun cümleler kurmaya özen gösteriniz.
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World Athletics announces new DNA testing rules for women athletes

Mandatory SRY gene analysis for all female competitors at international championships will start on 1 September, the global governing body for the sport of athletics announced on Wednesday. The new testing protocol requiring athletes to prove biological sex through DNA testing will take effect at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, which is set […]

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World Athletics announces new DNA testing rules for women athletes

Mandatory SRY gene analysis for all female competitors at international championships will start on 1 September, the global governing body for the sport of athletics announced on Wednesday.

The new testing protocol requiring athletes to prove biological sex through DNA testing will take effect at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, which is set for 13 September.

According to the new regulation, athletes will be required to undergo a one-time cheek swab or blood test to detect the presence of Y chromosomes.

The new rules came after recommendations made in March by the World Athletics gender diversity task force.

“Testing to confirm biological sex is a very important step to ensure that there is no biological glass ceiling,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in April, following the announcement that new rules were in the works. “To compete in the women’s division, you have to be biologically female. Gender cannot trump biology.”

The decision means that only biological females, those with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS), or athletes meeting specific transitional provisions, will be allowed to compete in women’s events.

Athletes testing positive for Y chromosomes remain eligible for non-ranking competitions or categories other than women’s events. World Athletics will contribute up to $100 per test for Tokyo competitors, with member federations conducting initial testing.

The SRY test analyses DNA samples for the sex-determining Y chromosome, with laboratory results available within one to two weeks. World Athletics describes the test as “extremely accurate” with minimal risk of erroneous results.

Athletes may contest the results through the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Under the new provisions, those who outright refuse to test will be barred from competing in world ranking events but may participate in alternative and non-ranked competitions.

The federation said the provisions do not intend to question someone’s gender identity, but are instead meant to protect fairness in women’s sports.

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Donald Trump's bizarre comment to Chiefs' Harrison Butker goes viral

Yorum Yazma Kuralları Lütfen yorum yaparken veya bir yorumu yanıtlarken aşağıda yer alan yorum yazma kurallarına dikkat ediniz.Türkiye Cumhuriyeti yasalarına aykırı, suç veya suçluyu övme amaçlı yorumlar yapmayınız.Küfür, argo, hakaret içerikli, nefret uyandıracak veya nefreti körükleyecek yorumlar yapmayınız.Irkçı, cinsiyetçi, kişilik haklarını zedeleyen, taciz amaçlı veya saldırgan ifadeler kullanmayınız.Türkçe imla kurallarına ve noktalama işaretlerine uygun cümleler […]

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Donald Trump's bizarre comment to Chiefs' Harrison Butker goes viral

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Lütfen yorum yaparken veya bir yorumu yanıtlarken aşağıda yer alan yorum yazma kurallarına dikkat ediniz.
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti yasalarına aykırı, suç veya suçluyu övme amaçlı yorumlar yapmayınız.
Küfür, argo, hakaret içerikli, nefret uyandıracak veya nefreti körükleyecek yorumlar yapmayınız.
Irkçı, cinsiyetçi, kişilik haklarını zedeleyen, taciz amaçlı veya saldırgan ifadeler kullanmayınız.
Türkçe imla kurallarına ve noktalama işaretlerine uygun cümleler kurmaya özen gösteriniz.
Yorumunuzu tamamı büyük harflerden oluşacak şekilde yazmayınız.
Gizli veya açık biçimde reklam, tanıtım amaçlı yorumlar yapmayınız.
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Yorumlarınızın hukuki sorumluluğunu üstlendiğinizi, talep edilmesi halinde bilgilerinizin yetkili makamlarla paylaşılacağını unutmayınız.

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Trump revives the Presidential Fitness Test alongside professional athletes at White House

By Alayna Treene, Kyle Feldscher, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump was joined by professional athletes on Thursday as he signed an executive order that will expand on his council on sports, fitness and nutrition, including by reviving the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools. The event, which featured golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs […]

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Trump revives the Presidential Fitness Test alongside professional athletes at White House

By Alayna Treene, Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump was joined by professional athletes on Thursday as he signed an executive order that will expand on his council on sports, fitness and nutrition, including by reviving the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools.

The event, which featured golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, among others, comes as the US prepares to host the 2025 Ryder Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics — all of which are major feathers in Trump’s cap for his second term.

The president, who often boasts that he gets to oversee the milestone sporting events, has been heavily invested in making them a success. He has also used his bully pulpit to reshape cultural issues, many of which have been tied directly to sports, including new policies on transgender athletes and threatening the Washington Commanders to change its name back to the “Redskins” or potentially face restrictions on a major stadium deal.

This initiative seems to be an attempt to build on that momentum.

The order formally reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test, first introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, creating school-based programs that reward “excellence in physical education” and developing criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award, according to details of the order obtained by CNN.

“From the late 1950s until 2013, graduate scholars all across our country competed against each other in the Presidential Fitness Test, and it was a big deal. This was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said Thursday.

The test, which will be administered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., brings back the fitness challenge that permeated public schools and anointed children who received the highest scores with presidential recognition. Former President Barack Obama abandoned the test in 2012 and replaced it with an assessment called the FitnessGram focused on bettering individual health.

“President Trump wants every young American to have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles — creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement.

The order, which the White House says addresses “the widespread epidemic of declining health and physical fitness,” instructs the presidential council to partner with professional athletes, sports organizations and influential figures.

Many of those high-profile individuals joined Trump in the White House’s Roosevelt Room to become formal members of the council. All of them have close ties to the president.

DeChambeau, a Trump favorite who currently plays on the LIV Golf League and recently visited the White House where he played golf on the South Lawn, is being named chairman of the council.

Butker met with the president in the Oval Office earlier this year. The kicker set off waves of criticism last year after he said in a controversial commencement speech that a woman’s accomplishments in the home are more valuable than any academic or professional goals and called Pride Month a “deadly sin,” among other things. Butker later defended his address and emphasized his Catholic faith.

Taylor, a New York City sports star during Trump’s golden years in the 1980s and 1990s, has spoken at the president’s campaign rallies.

Other attendees at the Thursday event included Cody Campbell, a former college football player and the head of Texas Tech’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collective who has been a key voice contributing to Trump’s policies on college sports; Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the WWE’s Chief Content Officer and 14-time World Champion who is the public face of a company that has a decades-long relationship with Trump; Annika Sorenstam, a Swedish professional golfer considered one of the most successful female golfers in history; and Stephen Soloway, a New Jersey physician who served on Trump’s sports council during his first term.

This article has been updated with additional developments.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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After viral Ravens video, Michael Phelps says he'll teach players to swim

Marlon Humphrey and other Ravens want to learn how to swim. Luckily for them, they landed the best teacher available: Michael Phelps. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To log in, click here. Originally Published: July 31, 2025 at 12:06 PM EDT 0

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After viral Ravens video, Michael Phelps says he'll teach players to swim

Marlon Humphrey and other Ravens want to learn how to swim. Luckily for them, they landed the best teacher available: Michael Phelps.

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Meet Team N.L. diver Juan Diego Palma, the youngest athlete at the Canada Games

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Meet Team N.L. diver Juan Diego Palma, the youngest athlete at the Canada Games


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