Story at a glance
- Raphael Warnock defeated Kelly Loeffler in one of two runoff elections that would decide which party will have control of the Senate.
- Loeffler is a part-time owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
- The WNBA has played an active role in increasing voter turnout in national and state elections.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler lost the state of Georgia to Rev. Raphael Warnock by a little more than 50,000 votes. A number of those votes were cast from the stadium where the Atlanta Dream — Loeffler is a co-owner of the team — plays. And not by accident.
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The Women’s National Basketball Association, a majority Black league, took an active role in Black Lives Matter protests this season, from sitting out games to making stadiums available for early voting. For her part, Loeffler has made her opposition as clear as her determination to remain co-owner.
“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,” she wrote in a letter to the league’s commissioner, saying that highlighting one “particular political agenda undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion.”
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Her players responded in kind, making a statement through the WNBA Players Association and even wearing “Vote Warnock” shirts before games, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
E-N-O-U-G-H!
O-U-T!https://t.co/XgIS2vRb2X
— WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) July 7, 2020
And after Warnock’s win, Atlanta Dream players and others made no secret of their support for Loeffler’s opponent.
This tweet aged well.
Congrats Senator-Elect @ReverendWarnock! I’m especially grateful for my fellow @TheWNBPA members on being strategic, fearless, and relentless. And to @staceyabrams, who turned a crushing gubernatorial defeat into sweet, sweet victory for an entire nation. https://t.co/2hYCKR4Fe1
— Elizabeth Williams (@E_Williams_1) January 6, 2021
Think I’m gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream. Whose in? #BlackVotesMatter✊ pic.twitter.com/9wclgdED2w
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 6, 2021
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