In an extensive new report on the fallout between the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne details the political calculus on both sides of the fight as well as the ongoing discussions among suitors who would like to purchase the Dream.
One of those is former Los Angeles Clippers star turned athlete investor Baron Davis, who said “I think it’s just life coming full circle,” after he was front and center for many years of the dark Donald Sterling saga in Los Angeles. Shelburne adds that Dream president Chris Sienko, majority owner Mary Brock and her husband and former Coca-Cola CEO John Brock, “have been providing financial information to potential buyers of the team.”
While Loeffler has stated her intention is not to sell the team and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has indicated it is not currently the plan of the league to force her to do so, the cleanest split would be for someone genuinely interested in growing women’s basketball in Atlanta to purchase the franchise. This is something Loeffler has shown herself unwilling to do any longer, as Shelburne brings in political scientists and longtime Atlantans to show how Loeffler’s fight with the WNBA grew spontaneously out of a need to win politically over a primary opponent who is seen as more supportive of President Trump than she is.
Whether Davis is the right person to becoming the managing partner of the Dream is unclear, but he is certainly a well-known and passionate person in the basketball community and seems to care about turning the page for the Dream after this fight with Loeffler.
Meanwhile, the players of the WNBA have worked with politicians like Michelle Obama and Stacey Abrams to develop a plan to encourage voter turnout in support of Loeffler’s Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, this fall. At the same time, the players have taken the stance of no longer mentioning Loeffler by name or addressing the situation directly, turning their cheeks to the woman who once supported them fully and now is using her connection with the league as a political advantage.