Players in the WNBA took to social media to celebrate the victory of Senator-elect Raphael Warnock in the US Senate runoff election against Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler.
His victory came during the early hours of the morning on Wednesday (January 6) after maintaining a lead of more than 54,000 votes.
Loeffler has been vocal in speaking out against the Black Lives Matter movement, which WNBA players on the Atlanta Dream have repeatedly protested.
Last summer, during the months of protests following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, players on the Dream sported t-shirts and other gear in protest.
According to a report by The Hill, Elizabeth Williams, the Dream’s forward, confirmed to ESPN back in August that the team had organized wearing the gear in direct objection to Loeffler’s stance on social and racial justice.
“For effective change to happen, there has to be policy changes. And so if we’re going to sit here and talk about wanting justice reform, part of that is making sure that we have officials in office that understand that,” Williams said at the time.
In the wake of Warnock’s win, players from several teams in the WNBA posted congratulatory messages to Georgia’s first Black senator.
Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm tweeted, “Winning is cool, but have you ever flipped the senate???”
Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks tweeted a photo of her wearing a “Vote Warnock” t-shirt from August.
Renowned journalist Michele Norris posted acknowledgement of the Dream’s efforts that she notes helped push Warnock in the polls.
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