Yahoo Finance Sen. Kelly Loeffler doesn't plan to sell her stake in Atlanta Dream: 'They can't push me out'
Despite widespread criticism from fans and her own players over her stance against the Black Lives Matter movement, Sen. Kelly Loeffler doesn’t have any plans to sell her ownership stake in the Atlanta Dream.
"They can't push me out for my views," Loeffler told ESPN. "I intend to own the team. I am not going."
Loeffler came under fire in mid-July when she wrote a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, stating her disapproval of the league’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement. She suggested putting American flags on all the jerseys instead of “Black Lives Matter” or “Say Her Name,” and claimed that sports needs less politics, not more.
Engelbert has said that she will not force Loeffler to sell her stake in the team.
Loeffler attempts to explain herself
During her interview with ESPN, Loeffler attempted to clarify her earlier comments against the WNBA’s support of Black Lives Matter, claiming that she meant the Black Lives Matter organization and not the Black Lives Matter movement.
"The statement, 'Black lives matter,' is very different than the organization Black Lives Matter," Loeffler told ESPN. "I think we all agree the life of every African American is important. There's no room for racism in this country, and we have to root it out where it exists. But there's a political organization called Black Lives Matter that I think is very important to make the distinction between their aim and where we are as a country at this moment.
The WNBA’s “Black Lives Matter” messages on jerseys and the actual floor of the basketball court is not in support of the formal organization, but of the larger Black Lives Matter movement. The difference is not hard to grasp, but Loeffler — who has an MBA from DePaul University and spent years working in the financial services industry — has somehow failed to understand what the WNBA is actually supporting.
Loeffler was appointed to the senate back in December to fill the seat of a Georgia senator who resigned. She is up for election on Nov. 3, trying to win the senate seat she currently occupies.
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