Former White Sox front office executive continues to blaze trails, but not with Chicago

Once again, the South Siders’ outdated management is highlighted, as Kim Ng is named the commissioner of Athletes Unlimited Softball League

The Chicago White Sox aren’t known for pioneering and making waves in history, but one person whose roots trace back to Chicago is currently charging ahead. Former Sox executive Kim Ng was named the first Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) commissioner, charged with growing the recently created professional softball league and promoting its brand.

Ng is no stranger to trailblazing a path for women in sports. She started her management career with Sox as the assistant director of baseball operations under then-GM Ron Schueler. In 1995, she was the first woman to present a salary arbitration case to MLB — and she won. Since leaving the Pale Hose in 1998, Ng has served in several front offices, including as the assistant general manager for the Yankees and Red Sox, vice president and assistant general manager for the Dodgers, and senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB. And if those accolades aren’t breakout-worthy enough, Ng was recently the Marlins’ general manager from 2020-2023, the first woman in sports history to be named the GM of a men’s team.

Breaking gender barriers left and right, Ng will be the face of AUSL as its first season begins on June 7. Responsible for the league’s initial conception and development as a senior advisor when she joined Athletes Unlimited in 2024, Ng has assembled a group of renowned athletes, managers, and coaches, who have together amassed nine Olympic medals, 11 NCAA championships, and 26 All-American honors awards. Watching such a talented group of women will be nothing short of entertaining.

Seeing Ng’s rise from an intern with the South Siders to fostering a professional women’s sports league casts a blinding spotlight on Chicago’s antiquated management. The Sox have refused to embrace diversity and adapt their standard of talent and success, trapping themselves in a box that only they have created. In a time when diversity and progressiveness are more important than ever, the Sox have been slow on the upkeep. Ng and other innovators continue to leave the White Sox in the dust of the 90s, and no one in Chicago’s front office seems to mind.

It’s infuriating to watch the South Siders once again be lapped by other competent, forward-thinking leaders in the sports industry, but that’s been the life of a Sox fan for the better part of this decade. After watching several years of poor baseball put on by none other than the Pale Hose, Ng’s product is bound to be far more impressive, while Chicago continues to stitch a wound that needs invasive surgery.