A Republican senator who owns a stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream is unimpressed with employees who chose to sport T-shirts supporting her Democratic opponent ahead of Tuesday’s game.
Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who previously came under fire from the league for criticizing the Black Lives Matter organization, said players who wore “Vote Warnock” T-shirts during pregame warmups had little to do with the game at hand.
“This isn’t about playing basketball. It’s about playing politics,” Loeffler said on Fox News on Wednesday. “Everyone has a right to choose who they want to vote for, but because I stood up for our American flag, suggested that we replace that with the divisive idea of this political organization, Black Lives Matter, not the statement, we all agree with the statement, but this political organization that wants to defund the police, that promotes anti-Semitism, and violence. It doesn’t believe in the nuclear family — I mean, we’re talking moms and dads. I said, ‘How can the league support that? Let’s stand for the flag.’ And, in fact, the players have walked out during the national anthem, so I had to draw the line, and I had to speak out.”
I spoke out about the radical BLM political organization, and stood up for the American flag.
Since then, WNBA players walked out on the national anthem and are now endorsing my political opponent.
WATCH my full interview with @IngrahamAngle. pic.twitter.com/k3ePRVuqqq
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) August 6, 2020
The T-shirts promoted the campaign of the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, who is running against Loeffler in this year’s Georgia Senate race.
The fallout between Loeffler and the league comes after she penned a letter in July to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert questioning the decision on the association’s part to align with Black Lives Matter. Loeffler suggested the players could wear a United States flag patch instead of allowing players to promote social justice messages on the backs of their jerseys.
WNBA superstar Sue Bird and former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams, who sits on the players’ union board of advocates, worked together to organize the prime-time protest against Loeffler, according to a New York Times report on the players’ decision.
“Stacey Abrams has endorsed my opponent, so it’s blatantly clear that this is all about politics and not about the unity that sports can provide,” Loeffler said, referring to the former minority leader of the Georgia House and failed Democratic state gubernatorial candidate.
