WNBA approves new Dream ownership group
ATLANTA — Former Atlanta Dream guard Renee Montgomery made history on Friday as part of a three-member investor group that was approved to purchase the team.
The ownership change follows pressure on former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who angered WNBA players with her opposition to the league’s racial justice initiatives, to sell her share of the Dream.
Real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener was approved as majority owner of the team. The investor group also includes Montgomery and Suzanne Abair, president of Northland Investment Corp. in Massachusetts, the firm Gottesdiener founded.
Montgomery becomes the first former player to become both an owner and executive of a WNBA franchise. She said she would play an active role with Abair in the leadership of the team.
“I’m going to be working with Suzanne and she’s going to lead the way,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery said she first began considering her role in an ownership group after Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted about the possibility of being part of such a group.
James applauded Montgomery’s ownership role by posting on Twitter: “So proud of this Queen. This is everything we are about!”
Montgomery sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice issues and recently announced her retirement from the league after 11 seasons and two WNBA championships.
“I think it’s great that Renee has stepped up after she retired from playing the game to continue having an impact on the game,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Friday. “I’ve seen her strong work ethic. I’ve seen her advocacy and knowledge of the game and I’m sure that’s going to be an asset to Larry and Suzanne and a huge benefit to the team.”
The approval by the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors was expected and unanimous. It means co-owner Mary Brock also sold her share of the team.
Players around the league had called for Loeffler to sell her 49 percent stake in the Dream after she wrote a letter to Engelbert over the summer objecting to the league’s advocacy for racial justice and the
Black Lives Matter movement.
Dream players wore “Vote Warnock” T-shirts in support of Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, who went on to defeat Loeffler in Georgia’s Senate runoff. Warnock’s victory, along with Jon Ossoff’s win in Georgia’s other runoff, handed control of the Senate to Democrats.
The high-profile campaigning against Loeffler by players on a team she owned was credited with boosting Warnock’s candidacy.
“The last year, the players of the Dream refused to just shut up and dribble,” Gottesdiener said. “They found their collective voice and the world listened. We were inspired by these brave women who advocated sports and activism in the midst of the pandemic and we want to celebrate and honor them.
“We’re particularly proud to be stewards of this team in this city at this time.”
The public is invited to learn more about local sharks during a free Zoom presentation at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The presentation, “Shark Research in Hawaii — With an Emphasis on Maui,” will be delivered by Dr. Kim Holland, research professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and founder of the institute’s Shark Research Group.
Holland’s research has focused on the biology and movement patterns of large marine fishes like tuna, billfishes and sharks. He has helped develop and deploy cuttingedge tracking technologies that provide insight into the movement patterns of marine fishes.
His presentation will include a brief overview of tracking technologies with an emphasis on what has been learned about the movements of sharks around Maui Nui.
The free talk is hosted by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as part of its “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series.” Advance reservations are required. To reserve a spot, visit http://bit.ly/SharkWebinar.