Give Kelly Loeffler credit for this: The two defining stories of the past few months have been the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, and she’s managed to carve out some villainous terrain for herself in both. In January and February, the Republican junior senator from Georgia made millions of dollars worth of stock trades just before the general public became aware of the extent of the health crisis—which she continued to downplay for weeks to come—that she happened to profit from. Loeffler, who is married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was cleared of any legal impropriety, but the maneuver remains the outstanding moment of her brief tenure as she campaigns for a full term. (Loeffler, an appointee of Georgia governor Brian Kemp, took office in January.)
And on Tuesday, players across the WNBA said that the richest U.S. senator should get out of the league. Loeffler is a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday that she’d sent a letter to the league objecting to its plans to support Black Lives Matter. It seemed to be particularly offensive to her that the players will wear warm-up jerseys in the upcoming season that say “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name,” and she suggested an American flag instead.
The responses from players were swift:
“I think we’ve had a number of people that have stepped forward and listened, and have taken initiative and taken action, and we’ve had those that haven’t and continue to make comments and show why we’re still in this situation,” Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker said on TNT. “So I think a number of players in our league have expressed that there’s no place in the league for her.”
The WNBA distanced itself from Loeffler in a statement too, saying that she’s not involved with the day-to-day operations of the Dream.
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