Atlanta Dream players stand against Sen. Kelly Loefflers criticism of BLM movement – ESPN

10:31 AM ET

Glory Johnsons signature was incorrectly left off of this declaration. She added to it, waits it and her signature need to also be at the end of it. pic.twitter.com/BMUcHj8sRH— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 11, 2020

Graham HaysESPN.com

On the same day that Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) declared she had no intent of selling her ownership share in the WNBAs Atlanta Dream, the groups main Twitter account shared a message from players collectively repudiating her criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Composed in their own voice, a Friday night tweet that consisted of the signatures of 13 gamers states, “Our team is joined in the Movement for Black Lives. This is not a political declaration.

CloseGraham Hays covers college sports for espnW, consisting of softball and soccer. Hays began with ESPN in 1999.

The signees consisted of all 12 gamers currently in Bradenton, Florida, where the WNBA will soon start play in a self-described bubble at the IMG Academy, along with veteran guard Renee Montgomery, who last month decided out of the season in order to concentrate on social justice concerns.
Montgomery penned an open letter to Loeffler on Friday as well.
” I kindly welcome you to rethink your stance and sign up with a discussion with me,” Montgomery composed. “While you might extremely well be on the ideal side of this Novembers elections, you are on the incorrect side of history if you cant see that Black Lives Matter.”
Earlier Friday, in an editorial released on the Daily Caller site, Loeffler repeated much of the criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement that she had actually made throughout the week in tweets, tv appearances and a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
In that letter, Loeffler, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who was appointed to the Senate last December and is on the tally this fall, revealed her opposition to league initiatives in assistance of the Black Lives Matter motion. Those initiatives consist of showing “Black Lives Matter” on the court in Florida and honoring women who have died in connection with cops action or declared racial violence.
Revealing her opposition to the “politicization of sports” in the editorial, she again promoted for placing an American flag on each jersey.

1 RelatedResponding to require her to sell her interest in the Dream, consisting of from many WNBA gamers and their union, Loeffler showed in the editorial that she will not do so.

Composed in their own voice, a Friday evening tweet that included the signatures of 13 players states, “Our group is unified in the Movement for Black Lives. This is not a political declaration. This is a declaration of humanity.”

Glory Johnsons signature was improperly left off of this declaration. She contributed to it, stands by it and her signature must also be at the end of it.

” But this is America and Im not going to bow down to the woke mob,” Loeffler composed. “Im not going to quit on the team due to the fact that of my individual or political views.”
The statement from Dream players did not call for Loeffler or the league to take any particular action.
Previously in the week, the league released a declaration saying: “The WNBA is based on the concept of fair and equal treatment of all people and we, together with the groups and players, will continue to use our platforms to intensely advocate for social justice. Sen. Kelly Loeffler has actually not functioned as a Governor of the Atlanta Dream considering that October 2019 and is no longer included in the daily business of the group.”
Dream player Elizabeth Williams followed up the post from the groups main account by including and tweeting the same message, “Weve checked out the letter. We decline the letter.”