Immediately following a gooey propaganda piece for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris this morning, ABC’s Good Morning America went straight into an anti-Republican hit piece targeting outgoing Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler.
Atlanta-based correspondent Steve Osunsami gave a glowing report of how the WNBA team which Loeffler co-owns, united to “push her out of office” through their activism actively supporting her opponent, Raphael Warnock, in the Georgia runoff elections.
“A major question here this morning, is will she return to the basketball team that helped push her out of office?,” Osunsami asked before portraying Loeffler as tone-deaf to Georgians and the players of her own team by criticizing Black Lives Matter:
She's the co-owner of a professional women's basketball team in a league built by the success of black athletes, in a team where the majority of the residents of the city are black. So it didn't go over well when Kelly Loeffler as part of her campaign for Congress said in July, that “I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter movement, this is not a political movement that the league should be embracing….”
The ABC correspondent gushed, “Many of her players felt she sold them out to try and appeal to conservative white voters. And this is how they responded, wearing t-shirts encouraging fans at home to vote for their boss' competition [Warnock].”
As he spoke to one Atlanta Dream player, Osunsami gave the team credit for helping to change the direction of Senate race, before demonizing Loeffler again. “Loeffler, who was once seen as an inclusive owner, is now seen by some as a villain in the league. And there are calls for her to leave,” he gushed, touting LeBron James's offer to take over the team.
To end his report, Osunsami again hailed the professional athletes "speaking truth to power" to get the Republican out of office: "The women who play on this team took a risk and say they decided to speak truth to power because the issues of social justice that they're not inconsequential."
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Read the transcript below:
Good Morning America
1/11/2021
ROBIN ROBERTS: Now to athletes flexing their muscles on and off the court, influencing the critical Georgia senate race. Steve Osunsami joins us with a deeper look from the activism from one WNBA team in particular. Good morning Steve.
STEVE OSUNSAMI: Good morning to you Robin. This city is home to the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and one of the big bosses in the front office is our Georgia congresswoman who was just defeated at the polls and a major question here this morning, is will she return to the basketball team that helped push her out of office?
She's the co-owner of a professional women's basketball team in a league built by the success of black athletes, in a team where the majority of the residents of the city are black. So it didn't go over well when Kelly Loeffler as part of her campaign for Congress said in July, that “I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter movement, this is not a political movement that the league should be embracing….”
ATLANTA DREAM PLAYER ELIZABETH WILLIAMS: We felt really disappointed. Because we had put such an emphasis on dedicating this season to social justice initiatives and Black Lives Matter.
OSUNSAMI: Many of her players felt she sold them out to try and appeal to conservative white voters. And this is how they responded, wearing t-shirts encouraging fans at home to vote for their boss' competition.
WILLIAMS: With us not necessarily being able to control her ownership, one thing that we could have some sort of impact on is the fact that she was in a Senate seat and we’re in an election year.
OSUNSAMI: This game last August was a display of sports activism that spread to other teams in the league on to social media and helped change the race for Senate. All of a sudden, Loeffler’s challenger, Raphael Warnock was leading in the polls.
WILLIAMS: After wearing the shirts, you know, his donation numbers went up. Generally people were asking questions. There was a little bit more national recognition from a name that wasn't super familiar to everyone.
OSUNSAMI: Loeffler, who was once seen as an inclusive owner, is now seen by some as a villain in the league. And there are calls for her to leave. NBA superstar Lebron James may or may not have been kidding when he shared online that he might buy the team, saying ‘I think I'm going to put together an ownership group for the Atlanta Dream. Who’s in?’
WILLIAMS: I’m sure there will be changes going forward but I’m excited to see how players continue to use their unique platforms in doing this type of work off the floor.
OSUNSAMI: The women who play on this team took a risk and say they decided to speak truth to power because the issues of social justice that they're not inconsequential. We reached out to Loeffler and her campaign and she did not respond.
