WNBA Continues to set Standards in Athlete Activism

January 8, 2020 

Last year was a watershed year for activism within the sport industry, with players, teams and leagues significantly increasing action on racial injustice and elevating social justice issues overall. Some of the strongest athlete activism was seen in the WNBA, where players used their platform to get behind causes ranging from sexual assault prevention to Planned Parenthood to educational support for LGBTQ+ youth. 

In July 2020, the WNBA and its Players Association (WNBPA) announced that the season would be dedicated to social justice reform, particularly addressing the "long history of inequality, implicit bias and racism" that disproportionately impacts communities of color. The associations launched The Justice Movement platform and created the WNBA/WNBPA Social Justice Council. The platform looked to amplify the voices and leadership of WNBA players and games throughout the season honored the Black Lives Matter movement and the #SayHerName campaign.

As stated in a league release at the time, "the collaborative efforts of the League and the Players Association represent an unprecedented and bold new commitment to advancing social justice by the longest standing U.S. sports league for women, as well as the first labor union for professional women athletes. The mission of the Social Justice Council is to be a driving force of necessary and continuing conversations about race, voting rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and gun control amongst other important societal issues."

 
On January 6, its latest advocacy efforts came to fruition when Rev. Raphael Warnock won a runoff election in Georgia, unseating Senator Kelly Loeffler, co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. The Dream played a large role in Warnock's history-making election - he is the first Black Democrat to represent a southern state in the Senate and only the 11th African American to serve in the Senate.

Warnock was polling at 9% when the the team and WNBA players threw support behind him in August 2020 and their campaign has been credited as a key factor in elevating Warnock’s national profile with polls rising to 26% at the time.

In July 2020, Loeffler had written a letter to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert opposing the league's decision to focus the season on social justice and particularly criticizing the BLM movement. In response Engelbert stated, "the WNBA is based on the principle of equal and fair treatment of all people and we, along with the teams and players, will continue to use our platforms to vigorously advocate for social justice."

Players continued ther advocacy, including as part of the athelete and artist-led More than A Vote campaign "combating systemic, racist voter suppression by educating, energizing, and protecting our community in 2020"in the lead up to the US elections last November.

In Georgia, the Dream pro-actively educated themselves on Warnock's policy positions, leading to their endorsement and their 'Vote Warnock' campaign which was supported by players across the league. Seattle Storm Guard Sami Whitcomb noted, "Rev. Warnock [represents our voices and values], so we're putting our support behind him because of the person that he is and the type of legislation that he stands for. You can call it politics. We call it supporting the human race and morals." 

This past Monday, as part of More Than A Vote's runoff election advocacy, Dream players, Tiffany Hayes, Renee Montgomery, Elizabeth Williams and Courtney Williams, narrated a video illustrating moments of activism throughout the WNBA season and encouraging Georgians to vote in the January 5 election which ultimately determined the party that would control the US Senate. 

In a recent opinion editorial in the Wall Street Journal, journalist Michele L. Norris wrote: "The team did more than wear shirts with a slogan. They educated themselves and engaged in mass voter education. They used their platforms to teach people about Black women killed while in police custody — stories that tend to be overshadowed by the more frequent tragedies involving men. They told those women’s stories. They said their names."