The transition in ownership comes after former Senator Kelly Loeffler upset Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players with her disagreement with the league’s racial justice initiatives.
What We Know:
- In response to the national protests last summer, the WNBA began spreading anti-racism messages supporting Black Lives Matter and seeking justice for Breonna Taylor’s death. Loeffler disagreed with these messages, stating that Black Lives Matter was “an anti-Semitic group based on Marxist principles.” Members of the Atlanta Dream, who are mostly people of color, were enraged by these comments. They began a rebellion against Kelly Loeffler, even rallying for her opponent Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) throughout games. Players also pressured Loeffler to sell 49% of her shares.
- The Atlanta Dream will now be owned by a three-member investor group. Real-estate investor Larry Gottesdiener will be the majority owner of the team. Suzanne Abair will be the firm’s chief operating officer. The WNBA franchise will make history, with Renee Montgomery being the first former player to be an executive and owner of a team. Montgomery, a former Dream star who sat out the 2019-2020 season to focus on social justice movements, recently announced her retirement after 11 seasons and two championships.
- Montgomery was inspired to do more for the Atlanta Dream when Lebron James participated in the “More Than A Vote” campaign, which aimed to raise voter turnout and decrease voter suppression in the Black community.
- According to Forbes, Montgomery said her dreams have come true. “Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both an ownership stake and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously,” she continued.
The Atlanta Dream is the third WNBA team to be sold in recent years. The other teams include the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces. It brings the optimism that sports leagues will become more unified and accepting, even at the corporate level.
