Could the WNBA Help Flip the Senate?

[JonLP24]

Amira Rose Davis: Many rich people get involved with ownership of sports teams. She had a minority stake in the Atlanta Dream for the past decade—it wasn’t part of her core political or professional aims. But then, when she and Mary Brock moved to purchase the team, that’s when she got a little bit more active, attending games, meeting with coaches.

When it really started to come up was when she turned and focused on her political career. In the fall of 2019, she stepped down from the WNBA Board of Governors and stopped being involved in the day-to-day ownership-of-a-team process. Part of the reason why was that her association with the WNBA, which is seen as a very Black, LGBTQ league, was knocking her and her political aspirations in conservative circles.

My understanding is that before she went to Washington, Loeffler was kind of a moderate like—she supported Mitt Romney and gave him a bunch of money. Do you know why she tacked to the right so abruptly?

That’s a career move. One thing that illustrates this: A few years ago, the WNBA had a partnership with the Take a Seat, Take a Stand initiative that directed portions of game-day ticket sales to five partner organizations, one being Planned Parenthood. When people brought that up with Loeffler, she was like, my organization never participated in that.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/kelly-loeffler-senate-wnba.amp?__twitter_impression=true