The Connecticut Sun on Tuesday joined several other WNBA teams in donning “Vote Warnock” shirts to express their support for Rev. Raphael Warnock, who’s challenging Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler for her Senate seat in Georgia come November.
Loeffler, as you may have heard, penned a letter to the WNBA in July taking issue with the league’s decision to paint “Black Lives Matter” along each court at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where the league will play out its 2020 season due to COVID-19. Players openly expressed frustration, anger and disappointment surrounding her comments shortly after they were made, taking their protest one step further Tuesday night.
Sun players were asked about their decision to don the shirts, and they didn’t hesitate to explain.
“Honestly, (it’s) us supporting our sisters with the Dream,” captain Jasmine Thomas said, per the Hartford Courant’s Alexa Philippou. “In Georgia, they have an election coming up that’s important. We’re trying to as a league push voting and how important it is. Reverend Warnock has a lot of things on his key issues that we relate to and that we believe in so we wanted to show support for him and for our sisters in Atlanta.”
“It’s important for us to just get that message out that voting matters even in the local elections,” Brionna Jones added. “Voting for somebody that you agree with in your local elections is important, not just the general election, so I think that’s one of the biggest takeaways.”
Election Day is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
