Las Vegas Aces player Angel McCoughtry, who spent her first 10 seasons in the WNBA with Atlanta, said in a video call with reporters Saturday that she thinks Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler, a senator from Georgia, is using the league for political posturing.
Several WNBA players want Loeffler removed from ownership because of statements she's made that the players view as against the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ rights, both WNBA initiatives.
McCoughtry tweeted in support of Loeffler back in April, saying Loeffler treated her well when she was with the Dream. But McCoughtry in late June said that Loeffler's remarks about "mob rule" in Atlanta were disappointing to her. Since then, Loeffler contacted WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stating she was opposed to the WNBA's support of Black Lives Matter as a league-wide initiative this season, which begins July 25.
"As far as Kelly is concerned, I think that right now, she has not reflected what the Dream logo stands for," McCoughtry said. "If she really did have [problems] with LGBTQ or Black Lives Matter, I don't think she would have had us players in her home. Why do you own a WNBA team? "I think she has to play the political game to look good in front of her peers. OK, do that. If you want to play the political game, do that, but don't include us in it."
Engelbert said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that Loeffler will not be forced to sell her ownership share of the Dream, but that the league was aware of other interested buyers.
Loeffler has made the distinction between the Black Lives Matter organization, which she says she opposes, and saying that "Black lives matter." Loeffler has said she wants less politics in sports overall. But McCoughtry feels Loeffler herself is making the situation political.
"So that's where I'm at with it: Leave us out of it," McCoughtry said. "Politics over there. We talk about social injustice things; that's not politics. That's human rights. I don't even know why she's mixing the two. So, we'll see what happens with that situation."