Kelly Loeffler vs. the Atlanta Dream: The Battle over Black Lives Matter

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Over the summer, Georgia senator and Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler criticized the WNBA's support for Black Lives Matter via a letter sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The letter prompted Dream players to wear shirts emblazoned with "Vote Warnock," Loeffler's political rival, and sparked a war of words between Loeffler and the players. As of now, Loeffler remains a co-owner of the Dream - and the players remain as politically engaged as ever. On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech from which the Atlanta Dream take their name, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne takes us inside the battle between Loeffler and the Dream's players. Will Loeffler's stance ultimately be a gift or liability for her on election day? And what comes next when a team's own players are actively fighting to end their owner's political career? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We have had a development here. The players initially thought they would play tonight, but they have changed their mind and Elizabeth Williams would like to read this statement.
0:09.0	After speaking with representatives from teams playing tonight, as well as our WNBPA leadership, the consensus is to not play in tonight's slate of games, and to kneel, lock arms, and raise fists during the national anthem.
0:22.6	We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA. We have been saying her name. We are
0:28.6	lifting the names of black and brown women whose murders have been forgotten. We will continue to use our platform to speak of these injustices that are still happening and demand
0:38.6	action for change. Black Lives Matter say her name. Say his name.
0:48.3	That was Atlanta Dream Forward and WNBPA executive committee member Elizabeth Williams.
0:54.6	And when she read that statement Wednesday night in the wake of the decision by NBA and
0:59.0	WNBA players to boycott their games, it had additional resonance because she and her fellow
1:04.9	players haven't just been calling for justice.
1:07.9	They've been demanding it in a very public way from their owner, who just
1:13.3	happens to be a U.S. Senator. Today, on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech,
1:19.5	from which the Atlanta Dream take their name, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne brings us inside
1:25.0	a battle between a league, its players, and an owner over the
1:29.4	Black Lives Matter movement.
1:32.0	I'm Pablo Torre. It's Friday, August 28th. This is ESPN Daily.
1:44.1	Ramona Shelburne, I want to start with a particular moment in the WNBA
1:49.0	bubble earlier this month. And please set the scene for us. It's the Atlanta dream. They're
1:55.9	taking the court for a nationally televised game on August 4th. What happens?
2:04.2	So on August 4th, the Atlanta Dream, drive to their game against the Phoenix Mercury,
2:08.8	and they're all wearing a shirt that says, vote Warnock.
2:14.8	Ramona Shelburne covers all manner of basketball for ESPN.
2:18.3	Unless you are a political nerd, like if you're reading Nate Silver every day and tracking Senate races around the country, that probably wouldn't mean much to you.
	...

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