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  4. title => "WNBA players wear \u2018Vote Warnock\u2019 shirts in continued stand against Kelly Loeffler"
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  6. article_body => "<p dir=\"ltr\">In a show of support to Raphael Warnock, a Democratic challenger for Kelly Loeffler\u2019s (R) Senate seat in Georgia, players across the WNBA donned T-shirts that read \u201cVote Warnock\u201d Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Loeffler, who owns a partial share in the Atlanta Dream and was officially appointed the junior United States Senator from Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp in January, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/blog\/politics\/loeffler-opposes-wnba-plan-spread-black-lives-matter-message\/ybTbHIpzZx7dbRlz3sfLiM\/\" target=\"_blank\">penned a letter<\/a> to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in July voicing opposition to the league\u2019s plans to honor the Black Lives Matter movement throughout its season. Her seat is up for grabs in a special election set to be held Nov. 3.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wysiwyg-center\" dir=\"ltr\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/smart.link\/5bb676790335f?site_id=Dig_RSN_Chi&amp;creative_id=nbcschi5719&amp;cp_4=www.nbcsports.com&amp;cp_1=washington&amp;cp_2=myteams-nbc-sports&amp;cp_3=nbcschi5719\">Click to download the MyTeams App.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Here\u2019s a look at the Sky, who sported the shirts both in advance of and following the team\u2019s fifth game of the season, an 82-79 victory over the Dallas Wings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Don&#39;t boo...VOTE \ud83d\uddf3<br><br>Register to vote at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zXnPqmFZQ7\">https:\/\/t.co\/zXnPqmFZQ7<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Vote2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Vote2020<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4yMmEqgXMS\">pic.twitter.com\/4yMmEqgXMS<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chicagosky\/status\/1290750982356336641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 4, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n <\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt\u2019s very clear, we\u2019re an incredible league that has always been very vocal,\u201d Courtney Vandersloot said in a Zoom conference after the game. \u201cWe have 80 percent Black women who are absolutely amazing and if you feel so strongly about them, why are you even associated with the WNBA? That part I don\u2019t understand. We don\u2019t need you. And that\u2019s that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dream forward Elizabeth Williams personally tweeted out her support for Warnock.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We are <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wnba<\/a> players, but like the late, great John Lewis said, we are also ordinary people with extraordinary vision. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReverendWarnock?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ReverendWarnock<\/a> has spent his life fighting for the people and we need him in Washington. Join the movement for a better Georgia at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hC8iF9urak\">https:\/\/t.co\/hC8iF9urak<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mvN5e9m4oO\">pic.twitter.com\/mvN5e9m4oO<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Elizabeth Williams (@E_Williams_1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/E_Williams_1\/status\/1290742774212501504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 4, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After Loeffler\u2019s letter to Engelbert, players across the league were swift and universal in condemning her; in a tweet, the WNBPA joined its constituents by publicly calling for Loeffler to vacate her post with the Dream. The WNBA then said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rob_schaef\/status\/1280591718228860933?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> that Loeffler was \u201cno longer involved in the day-to-day business of the team\u201d and hadn\u2019t served as the Dream\u2019s Governor since October 2019.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">E-N-O-U-G-H!<br><br>O-U-T!<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XgIS2vRb2X\">https:\/\/t.co\/XgIS2vRb2X<\/a><\/p>&mdash; WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheWNBPA\/status\/1280585431206244353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Loeffler doubled down on her opposition to Black Lives Matter in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/29514359\/atlanta-dream-co-owner-kelly-loeffler-wnba-support-black-lives-matter-make-some-fans-feel-excluded\" target=\"_blank\">interview<\/a> with ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne in late July, saying she has no intention of selling her stake in the Dream. She tripled down Tuesday in a statement:<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Loeffler is not happy about WNBA players wearing &quot;Vote Warnock&quot; t-shirts...<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GASen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GASen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IJCOGLQES3\">pic.twitter.com\/IJCOGLQES3<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Niles Edward Francis (@NilesGApol) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NilesGApol\/status\/1290828521120698368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n <\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But a league notorious for leading the charge in athlete advocacy on issues of social justice presented a unified front Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIt was important to me (to wear the shirt) because my teammates wanted me to wear it,\u201d Cheyenne Parker said in her postgame Zoom availability, though she added that she isn\u2019t fully acquainted with Warnock\u2019s politics. \u201cThe whole point in us wearing this is to try to get the partial owner of Atlanta out of office. That was the whole point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cObviously I support that because she doesn\u2019t stand for what this league stands for. So whatever it takes to get her displaced and removed, I\u2019m willing to participate in it. I don\u2019t know much about Warnock, but I wore the shirt for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n"
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Bulls

Bulls

In a show of support to Raphael Warnock, a Democratic challenger for Kelly Loeffler’s (R) Senate seat in Georgia, players across the WNBA donned T-shirts that read “Vote Warnock” Tuesday afternoon.

Loeffler, who owns a partial share in the Atlanta Dream and was officially appointed the junior United States Senator from Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp in January, penned a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in July voicing opposition to the league’s plans to honor the Black Lives Matter movement throughout its season. Her seat is up for grabs in a special election set to be held Nov. 3.

Click to download the MyTeams App.

Here’s a look at the Sky, who sported the shirts both in advance of and following the team’s fifth game of the season, an 82-79 victory over the Dallas Wings. 

“It’s very clear, we’re an incredible league that has always been very vocal,” Courtney Vandersloot said in a Zoom conference after the game. “We have 80 percent Black women who are absolutely amazing and if you feel so strongly about them, why are you even associated with the WNBA? That part I don’t understand. We don’t need you. And that’s that.”

Dream forward Elizabeth Williams personally tweeted out her support for Warnock.

 

 

After Loeffler’s letter to Engelbert, players across the league were swift and universal in condemning her; in a tweet, the WNBPA joined its constituents by publicly calling for Loeffler to vacate her post with the Dream. The WNBA then said in a statement that Loeffler was “no longer involved in the day-to-day business of the team” and hadn’t served as the Dream’s Governor since October 2019.

 

Loeffler doubled down on her opposition to Black Lives Matter in an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne in late July, saying she has no intention of selling her stake in the Dream. She tripled down Tuesday in a statement:

But a league notorious for leading the charge in athlete advocacy on issues of social justice presented a unified front Tuesday.

“It was important to me (to wear the shirt) because my teammates wanted me to wear it,” Cheyenne Parker said in her postgame Zoom availability, though she added that she isn’t fully acquainted with Warnock’s politics. “The whole point in us wearing this is to try to get the partial owner of Atlanta out of office. That was the whole point. 

“Obviously I support that because she doesn’t stand for what this league stands for. So whatever it takes to get her displaced and removed, I’m willing to participate in it. I don’t know much about Warnock, but I wore the shirt for my team.”