Terri Jackson, the executive director of the players’ union, also released a statement lauding the sale. “May it send a strong reminder that the players of the W are bigger than basketball, and that together they stand for equity, justice, diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect,” she said.
Gottesdiener, who had previously been linked to trying to bring an N.H.L. team to Hartford, Conn., more than a decade ago, cited the team’s activism as a draw for him to invest. He said that he first looked at purchasing a W.N.B.A. team in 2002. He has also frequently written checks to Democratic politicians.
“The players of the Dream refused to just shut up and dribble,” he said. “They found their collective voice and the world listened. We are inspired by these brave women.”
Mary Brock, who had owned a majority of the team since 2011, stayed silent about Loeffler’s Black Lives Matter comments and the backlash from players over the summer. In January, LeBron James, the N.B.A. star, suggested that he might put together an ownership group for the team. Other sports luminaries, like the former N.B.A. star Baron Davis and baseball’s Mookie Betts, had also been linked to sale talks.
For Montgomery, a former Dream star who opted out of the 2019-2020 season to focus on social justice efforts and recently announced her retirement, this is a homecoming. She said she still felt like she had the ability to take the court in the W.N.B.A., but had opted instead to become the first former W.N.B.A. player to take an ownership stake in a W.N.B.A. team.
“Larry and Suzanne have just been incredible already making it known how they feel,” Montgomery said. “He’s already mentioned women empowerment, social justice. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s my life!’”