- The Seattle Storm has endorsed
Joe Biden in the2020 presidential election . - The 2020
WNBA championship team owners took to Twitter to explain the decision to officially support a candidate, saying they "don't typically endorse candidates, but these are NOT typical times." - Using their official twitter, the franchise encouraged its fanbase to vote on or before November 3 and to "join us" in voting for the Biden-Harris Democratic ticket.
The WNBA has never been afraid to get political, but the Seattle Storm used their platform in unprecedented fashion this week.
On Wednesday — with just 13 days remaining before the US presidential election on November 3 — the 2020 WNBA champions officially endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as a franchise.
"Join us in support of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris," the team posted on its official Twitter account Wednesday afternoon.
—Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) October 21, 2020
Professional
The Seattle franchise owners — who comprise one of the only majority-woman ownership groups in major U.S. professional sports — took to Twitter to explain their decision to issue an official endorsement on behalf of the team.
Social enterprise entrepreneur and two-time Olympian Ginny Gilder said she was "proud" to endorse Biden and Harris alongside her co-owners and added that "we don't typically endorse candidates, but these are NOT typical times."
—Ginny Gilder (@ginnygilder) October 21, 2020
Fellow owner Dawn Trudeau wrote that "there is no doubt who we support in this election" and implored fans to vote "For ourselves. For our family and friends. For our business. For our country. For our future."
—Dawn Trudeau (@dawntru) October 21, 2020
The WNBA players — including those suiting up for the Storm — have been vocal about voting and other social justice issues throughout the 2020 season and beyond. They devoted their season to demanding justice for Breonna Taylor and other female victims of police brutality, wearing Breonna Taylor's name on the back of their jerseys throughout their 2020 campaign. They spoke with former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer. They demanded justice for the late Louisville EMT, honored Sandra Bland, and raised awareness for other Black women like them through a partnership with the "Say Her Name" campaign.
WNBA stars across the league also joined forces to openly endorse Reverend Raphael Warnock — who is opposing incumbent Kelly Loeffler in her Georgia Senate race — despite her ownership stake in one of the league's teams. Players wore T-shirts enscribed with "VOTE WARNOCK" after many demanded Loeffler be banned from the WNBA after her comments against the Black Lives Matter movement.
And after Seattle completed its three-game sweep of the Las Vegas Aces in the 2020 WNBA Finals, Storm star Alysha Clark perfectly encapsulated the season during her postgame media availability.
"Even just speaking to raise awareness of the importance of voting and what comes after this is going to be a continuous fight," Clark said. "And we are ready for it. We are built for it."
"That's what the women of this league are made of," she added. "We are built to fight. We are built to stand up for what is right in this world, and we are going to continue to do that."
- Read more:
- Alysha Clark perfectly encapsulated the 2020 WNBA season while dedicating the Storm's championship to 'little Black girls and women across this country'
- Sue Bird said that the notable absence of fans in the WNBA bubble made the Seattle Storm's 2020 championship 'not quite as fun'
- Sue Bird said her legacy is 'already written' and described her last 2 WNBA championships as bonuses because she's playing 'on borrowed time'
- 18 months after an Achilles tear, Breanna Stewart dominated the Aces, won Finals MVP, then drank celebratory champagne during her media call