It wasn’t easy, but Melissa Ortiz has found success following her passions after her pro soccer career.
Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF
Melissa Ortiz was 9 years old when she witnessed Brandi Chastain score the deciding penalty kick to help the U.S. Women’s National Team defeat China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in front of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl.
Like millions of others watching around the world, not only was Ortiz enthralled by the USWNT’s dramatic victory capped off by Chastain’s iconic celebration, she was inspired by the team’s off-field accomplishments equally as much, if not more so.
Known as The 99ers, the squad stood up for itself and the significance of the tournament despite detractors. Players including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and Briana Scurry fought for gender equality and organizational support, eventually paving the way for the USWNT’s successful equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation nearly two decades later.
“They absolutely inspired me by how they led such change, not only in women’s soccer but women’s sports around the world,” Ortiz said. “Since then, it really just impacted me.”
Melissa Ortiz was inspired by The 99ers’ grit, determination and success on and off the field.
Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF
As some nations and federations around the world began making progressive changes to level the playing field in terms of prize money, support staff, resources and facilities, Ortiz and her teammates on the Colombian Women’s National Team found themselves in a similar situation, struggling for equality compared to their male colleagues. Taking a page out of the USWNT’s playbook, Ortiz, who retired in 2017, and former teammate Isabella Echeverri stopped biting their tongues in 2019.
“By learning from what The 99ers did and just acting and executing and not having fear anymore led us to driving really impactful change in Colombia in women’s soccer and South America too,” Ortiz said. “You can see the long-lasting impact. It gives me chills even to this day that in 2019 we did that.”
As someone now carrying the torch passed from The 99ers, Ortiz remains a vocal advocate of equal rights for women—in sports and in life—particularly within the Hispanic community. That even includes speaking out on gender and racial bias she’s experienced during her transition from player to TV pundit, entrepreneur, host and personality.
Despite not having many opportunities knocking at her door when she first hung up her cleats, Ortiz sent out resume after resume, assuming she’d at least get a callback or interview opportunity with a pro sports career, Olympic appearance and MBA on her CV.
“I thought it was going to be an easy walk in the park,” she said. “It wasn’t like that at all.”
Discouraged but not defeated, Ortiz decided she would have to make a name for herself in Corporate America just like she did with the Colombian Women’s National Team. Galvanized by Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It!,” Ortiz realigned her priorites to follow her passions.
“I’m passionate about soccer, women’s sports, coffee and being Latina,” she said.
Turning to social media, Ortiz’s online persona grew as she fused her love, experience and knowledge of the beautiful game with her Hispanic heritage and joyous personality. With the goal of becoming a broadcaster, Ortiz continued to grow and inspire with the hopes of being discovered by someone who could provide an assist.
Today, Ortiz talks fútbol for a living as a broadcaster/analyst for TNT Sports, launched Kickoff Coffee Co. in 2021, and was recently named the first athlete advisor at Drafted, a new initiative from adidas’ Community Lab blending representation, community building and mentorship to support and promote Latinas in sports.
Ortiz was named one of Adweek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports in 2025.
“For me to have this type of role isn’t only to inspire a whole generation of girls and women that perhaps want to be like me or in their own lane do something special, but also I just feel like for so many years Latinas, especially, have been overlooked,” Ortiz said. “We have such a powerful community. We have such incredibly talented women.”
Accounting for nearly 20% of the U.S. population, the Latino community, particularly Latina women, still faces many obstacles.
In 2023, for every dollar earned by a white man in the U.S., a typical Latina woman working full-time year-round earned 57.8 cents per dollar, adding up to $32,070 less per year, according to the 2023 Annual Gender Wage Gap by Race and Ethnicity from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Latinas are also the least-represented group at the C-suite level at 1% despite being one of the fastest-growing populations in the country.
Fueled by her passions while dancing to Bad Bunny in between, Melissa Ortiz remains true to herself while continuing to show not just Latinas, but anyone, that betting on yourself and your passion(s) is a recipe for success.
“I want to keep inspiring women to have that courage to use their voices,” Ortiz said.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellore/2025/10/20/melissa-ortizs-bet-on-herself-paying-off-for-her-and-latinas/
