Ever since Atlanta Dream owner and current senator out of Georgia Kelly Loeffler crossed over from the sporting realm into more political prominence, she has found herself under scrutiny by the WNBA community.
Her tweets and comments (as well as her reported stock deals amid the coronavirus outbreak) has called for many WNBA backers on social media to call for commissioner Cathy Engelbert to have her removed from the league ala when the NBA removed Donald Sterling from owning the Los Angeles Clippers.
It’s time, @WNBA. You can’t say you support #BlackLivesMatter and #Pride and continue to allow Kelly Loeffler to co-own the Atlanta Dream https://t.co/ImSZqRwB0O
— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) June 30, 2020
I hate Kelly Loeffler. I really think she’s despicable. I don’t want her to own any part of a WNBA team, or anything at all for that matter. And I hate that she also makes me think: if she didn’t own that part of the Dream, would someone else, or, well…?
— Kurtis (@fromkurtis) June 26, 2020
Yes, I’ve been surprised not to see more conversation around her ownership. The more we learn about her views & stances, the more incongruous they seem with what the WNBA stands for. https://t.co/qyjMOy7lDV
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) June 30, 2020
Loeffler’s latest remarks regarding open carry of guns by Black Americans will only increase those calls.
In an interview with Fox News, the Dream’s owner turned Georgia senator referred to the idea of open carry by Black Americans as “mob rule” while defending second Amendment rights at her introductory presser when she was announced as the successor to former senator Johnny Isakson.
Isakson stepped down from his post due to health issues.
Republican Georgia Senator @KLoeffler – an @NRA darling who champions gun rights for her white constituents – calls open carry by Black Americans “mob rule” and says it endangers civilians and law enforcement.
pic.twitter.com/cZz8hB7CEj— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 25, 2020
Comments or no comments, the reality is Loeffler still faces a tough bid for reelection this year in Georgia’s “jungle primary” for the Senate seat. A recent poll from Public Policy Polling shows her Republican challenger Doug Collins (Georgia’s ninth district) in the lead with 23% to Loeffler’s 21%. The top Democrat in the poll? Raphael Warnock (Ebenezer Baptist Church) at 20%.
