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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Loeffler's Future In WNBA Debated Amid Senate Seat Loss

Atlanta Dream co-Owner Kelly Loeffler has repeatedly said that she is unwilling to sell her stakeNBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Following WNBA Atlanta Dream co-Owner Kelly Loeffler's Senate race loss, the question "turns to what's next for the players and the league -- and to what should be done about an owner who publicly blasted her own players and who ... said the values of the WNBA did not align with her own," according to Deb & Draper of the N.Y. TIMES. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert over the summer said that she "would not force Loeffler to sell her stake." Loeffler has said repeatedly that she is "unwilling to sell." This leaves the league at an "uncomfortable impasse." Dream majority Owner Mary Brock "has been exploring a sale of the Dream, but it is unclear how far those discussions have gone." It also is "unclear what role Loeffler has in those negotiations or whether her stake would be part of a sale" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/7).

CALLING FOR AN END: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes the WNBA "can no longer ignore the fact that Loeffler is a liability." She is an "even greater one than" she "already was these past few months, given that whatever clout or cachet Loeffler might have brought to the league as a U.S. Senator is now gone." Loeffler's continued ownership stake in the Dream "will only detract" from the league's efforts to build. There is "no amount of distance the WNBA or Dream can put between themselves and Loeffler that will make people forget they are intertwined" (USA TODAY, 1/7).

ENACTING CHANGE: Following the Senate race, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said the WNBA players "should feel great today, not just the Atlanta Dream, the whole league, because they effected change.” ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said the WNBA has been “on the front lines from the very beginning” on many social issues. ESPN’s Eric Woodyard said change “might not happen today necessarily (but) they’re planting those seeds for the next generation." ESPN’s Rachel Nichols: “The past few years we’ve seen athletes realize how much power they have, especially in today’s economy when they’re not as dependent on a particular sponsor or a particular paycheck. They can really speak their mind and make and effect change” (“The Jump,” ESPN, 1/6). ESPN’s David Jacoby: “The WNBA has always been on the forefront in the fight against social injustice.” Jacoby said athletes and activism "can cause change." They "can’t solve the problem, but they can continue the fight against it” (“Jalen & Jacoby,” ESPN, 1/6). ESPN’s Mina Kimes said in a year in which athletes "decidedly did not stick to sports and spoke their minds, we should remember that WNBA players have always led everyone on this, especially black women, and deserve of credit for their efforts” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 1/6).

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