Serena Williams Says Their Daughter Will Be ‘Proud’ of Alexis Ohanian for Stepping Down From the Reddit Board

Serena Williams supports her husband Alexis Ohanian’s decision to step down from the Reddit board. The cofounder of the social content platform announced on June 5 that he is making room for Black voices amid protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers.

Ohanian, who married the tennis icon in 2017, made the announcement via Twitter, Instagram, and his personal website in order to urge the company to fill his seat with a Black candidate.

“I cofounded Reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging,” he began his Twitter thread. “It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.”

Ohanian specifically points to his two-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., as a catalyst for making this decision. He continued, “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’”

I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging.⁰

It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. ? (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020

I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging.⁰

It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. ? (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020

Not only is he removing himself from the board, but he’s pledging $1 million to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp. “I will use future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate, and I’m starting with a pledge of $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp,” he wrote. Ohanian is currently the cofounder and managing partner of Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm in San Francisco with more than 200 companies in its portfolio. According to Forbes, Ohanian’s net worth is estimated at $70 million as of last year.

“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” he concluded. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”

Serena Williams quickly responded in support of her husband’s actions. “Having diverse views on any boards is important,” she tweeted. “So proud of you Alexis. I know Olympia will be too.”

Having diverse views on any boards is important. So proud of you Alexis. I know Olympia will be too https://t.co/kVUaJZoe7v

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 5, 2020