In a league that always leads the way for athlete activism, the WNBA falls short in supporting their players. If the league truly supported the players that make it so great, then the WNBA would force Kelly Loeffler to sell her stake in the Atlanta Dream.
The Dream players have actively campaigned for her Senate opponent Raphael Warnock. Frequently players were seen in black shirts with the words “Vote Warnock” written across them and it wasn’t just limited to Atlanta’s players. Other teams would also wear the shirts, showing their support for Warnock.
Dream center Elizabeth Williams confirmed the team met with Warnock several times. Despite multiple calls for her removal, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has confirmed that she will not force Loeffler to sell her 49 percent stake. How can a league actively claim to support their players while having a racist as a team owner?
The short answer is they can’t. Even if Loeffler loses her Senate race, the WNBA still needs to take action. You can’t profit off players protesting and have an owner feel this way about those protests,
“I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure, harbored anti-Semitic views, and promoted violence and destruction across the country. I believe it is totally misaligned with the values and goals of the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream, where we support tolerance and inclusion.”
She called the league’s decision to put Black Lives Matter on the courts “incredibly disappointing”. The WNBA has never been shy about supporting “controversial to some” institutions like Planned Parenthood. The league created the “Take a Seat, Take a Stand” initiative in 2018 where for every ticket purchased, the league would donate $5 to a charitable organization of the purchaser’s choice. Planned Parenthood being one of the organizations. The Seattle Storm even partnered with Planned Partnerhood to hold a rally before their game against the Chicago Sky. The league did not object despite receiving backlash. But when the call is to support Black lives suddenly the league can’t take a strong stand?
The NBA laid the groundwork of how to seamlessly remove an owner when Adam Silver made the decision to ban Donald Sterling.
The ex-Clippers’ owner was removed after a recording was released with Sterling making extremely racist remarks. Sterling received a lifetime ban and was fined $2.5 million, the highest punishment allowed. The WNBA would be wise to do the same.
With the league’s popularity reaching all-time highs, this would be such a powerful and needed step to keep fans’ loyalty. Much of that popularity is due to the players’ courage and willingness to speak up for marginalized communities. One of the greatest to ever play, Maya Moore, stepped away at the prime of her incredible career. Instead, she dedicated herself to social justice. In 2020 she was able to free Jonathan Irons, a man wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. In comparison, while at a campaign rally for her Senate race, Kelly Loeffler posed with a known white supremacist associated with a skinhead gang.
The WNBA simply cannot stand for both Maya Moore and Kelly Loeffler.
