LeBron James wants to put together an ownership team to buy the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise from outgoing Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
James, 36, made the comments in the wake of Loeffler’s loss to the Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Senate runoff election in Georgia on Jan. 5, 2021.
Think I’m gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream. Whose in? #BlackVotesMatter✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/9wclgdED2w
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 6, 2021
Loeffler, a Republican and co-owner of the Dream, made disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement and indicated her extreme displeasure with some of the players’ participation in the sociopolitical uprising last summer.
In July 2020, Loeffler penned a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert calling the BLM a divisive entity. “I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure, harbored anti-Semitic views, and promoted violence and destruction across the country. I believe it is totally misaligned with the values and goals of the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream, where we support tolerance and inclusion…I am incredibly disappointed to read about efforts to insert a political platform into the league,” Loeffler wrote, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The truth is, we need less — not more politics in sports. In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote. And now more than ever, we should be united in our goal to remove politics from sports.”
As expected, James’ tweet invited strong reactions from supporters and detractors alike.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Holly Robinson Peete 💃🏾♍️ (@hollyrpeete) January 6, 2021
The Black VOTE is getting out in GA – and is about to change this nation. Thank the LORD!
— Lisa Krumm Schmidt (@KrummSchmidt) January 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/BaseballNerd07/status/1346692004848279553
Keep dividing…. That is not unity. That is anger.
Not inspiration.I thought the Dems wanted to unite the country?
— alex hernandez (@alexman_hdz) January 6, 2021
