The Atlanta Dream, a WNBA franchise, will be sold soon, and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who co-owns the team, will no longer be associated with it, ESPN reported.
“As it relates to the Atlanta Dream, we understand a sale of the franchise is close to being finalized,” the WNBA said in a statement. “Once the sale negotiation is concluded, additional information will be provided.”
As of Tuesday, the Atlanta Dream had five potential buyers.
As co-owner, Loeffler fought against the mostly black WNBA’s radical embrace of Black Lives Matter, an organization that instigates and celebrates criminal behavior.
“The truth is, we need less—not more politics in sports,” Loeffler wrote in a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert last July. “In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote.”
Players for the Atlanta Dream opposed Loeffler in a statement, CBS Sports reported.
“We are the women of the Atlanta Dream,” the team wrote. “We are women who support a movement. We are strong and we are fearless. We offer a voice to the voiceless. Our team is united in the movement for Black Lives. It is not extreme to demand change after centuries of inequality. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of humanity.”
The team told her to sell her 49 percent share of the team’s ownership.
When she refused, the team endorsed her Senate opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Loeffler lost the race.
During the controversy in July, Loeffler said she planned to retain ownership of the team.
“I have long welcomed additional partners as part of making sure that we continue to grow the team,” she said. “But I will continue to remain part of the team.”
She has not commented on the team’s upcoming sale.
