Your Day in Women’s Basketball, July 8: WNBA vs. Kelly Loeffler
League, players come together to criticize Dream owner’s opposition to Black Lives Matter Movement
On Tuesday, WNBA players responded to statements from Atlanta Dream owner and Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler that were in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement and against the league’s push for social justice.
In response to Loeffler’s comments, the league put out a press release.
“Sen. Kelly Loeffler has not served as a Governor of the Atlanta Dream since October 2019 and is no longer involved in the day-to-day business of the team,” the release said.
Actions are bigger than words, though, and many felt the league has not yet done enough, seeing as the senator still owns a share in the team.
But is she still an owner? pic.twitter.com/9lCDScW4GD
— LaChina Robinson (@LaChinaRobinson) July 7, 2020
More from Atlanta Dream
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 19: NCAA shakes up schedules, not scholarships
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 28: All-Rookie team announced
- Women’s Basketball, September 17: NCAA Hoops to start Nov. 25
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 14: Mystics are going dancing
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, September 10: Dream are (mathematically) stayin’ alive
It was a tough day for uplifting news in Flordia (shocking!), as we learned more information regarding hotel rooms for WNBA players. The quality of room assignments has been a mixed bag, to say the least. Some players have reported bed bugs and inadequate food options, while others have shared videos of worms and disgusting laundry rooms.
There are myriad issues that need to be addressed, and the league must step up without a solid contingency plan in place.
The Liberty are one step closer to becoming the first exclusively rookie team in WNBA history after second-year guard Asia Durr reported that she tested positive for the coronavirus in early June and has yet to recover. So how will the Liberty replace the athletic combo guard?
New York could aim for familiar faces like Haley Gorecki (who played with Liberty forward Leonna Odom), or it could nab Juicy Landrum to replace Durr’s patented midrange game.
Liz Cambage and her Australian team, the Opals, boycotted practice after racist disputes behind closed team doors, as well as in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement.
“How dare people say Black Lives Matter,” Cambage said in the video. “How f—ing dare you people say that when we have the darkest, most twisted, most disgusting past when it comes to Indigenous Australians and the treatment of Indigenous Australians.”
As a result of the Opals boycott, the league announced the creation of the RISE UP Movement, which was founded when players spoke out against racial justice recently. Cambage and teammates are still fighting for the inclusion of the indigenous flag on their uniforms.