Renee Montgomery buying a stake in the Atlanta Dream shows how powerful WNBA players are

Kelly Loeffler is out.

Not even a year ago Kelly Loeffler, the former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, was causing a stir around the WNBA.

She vehemently disapproved of the WNBA allowing its players to honor victims of police violence by wearing warm-up shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name.” They were referencing Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville police in March of 2020.

Loeffler wrote a letter to the league asking that those slogans be replaced by American flags. The WNBA players decided they wanted her out. Now, months later, she’s gone.

The Atlanta Dream has been sold to a new ownership group. And the best part? Renee Montgomery, a former Dream star, is part of the group. She made it official with a tweet.

This is a huge triumph for the WNBA’s players that opposed Loeffler. It was the ending that they wanted and then some.

First, Loeffler lost the support of the players on her team and from around the league. Then, she also lost her Senate seat after those same players helped push Raphael Warnock to victory in their Senate race last fall.

It isn’t just that Loeffler sold her stake in the team, it’s also the fact that she’s selling the team to Montgomery, a former player. Montgomery was also one of the loudest voices in the WNBA who championed everything Loeffler stood against.

She also set her career aside to do it. She retired from the WNBA last season after electing to sit out of the bubble because she wanted to find ways to impact social change. She wrote an article in The Player’s Tribune about her decision within the context of racism and how her family inspired her to do this.

And now, she’s a part-owner of the Atlanta Dream. She’s also the first former player in WNBA history to become a league owner and executive. All in less than a calendar year. That’s how quickly Montgomery and the WNBA’s players were able to make this all happen.

This just goes to us how powerful they truly are.