Ex-Atlanta Dream guard Renee Montgomery has become part owner of the WNBA team.
The takeover ends former senator Kelly Loeffler’s co-ownership of the club, which Montgomery and Dream players campaigned against.
Sooo @ReneeMontgomery is really out here changing the landscape of professional sports like FOR REAL. CONGRATULATIONS to the first ever former female player to become an OWNER of a professional sports team. Wow. The FUTURE OF WOMEN IS SPORTS IS SO BRIGHT. https://t.co/PoosHkFufa
— Anya Packer (She/Her) (@battaglinoa) February 26, 2021
“My dream has come true,” said 34-year-old two-time WNBA champion Montgomery, who retired as a player this month.
Montgomery also sat out the 2020 season to pursue social justice reforms.
She is the first former player to become both a team owner and an executive.
“Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both a stake in ownership and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously,” she told the Atlanta Dream website.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James congratulated Montgomery on the takeover.
“So proud of this Queen. This is everything we are about,” he tweeted.
The sale of the team to the three-person investment group of Montgomery and real estate developers Larry Gottesdiener and Suzanne Abair was unanimously approved WNBA and NBA boards of governors.
“Today marks a new beginning for the Atlanta Dream organisation,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
