Team USA women's hoop members pledge their support for Kamala Harris via WNBA council

PARIS — The WNBA’s Social Justice Council has begun to discuss ways in which it can leverage the burgeoning popularity of the league to support presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.

“We have been talking in the group chat about finding a way to obviously back Kamala as much as we can,” Breanna Stewart, a member of that council who plays for the New York Liberty and the United States Women’s Basketball Team, said here Saturday.

The Council is a partnership of the WNBA and the WNBA Players’ Association. It was formed in the wake of the 2020 death of George Floyd. Its stated mission is “to educate, amplify, and mobilize action to address inequality.”

In 2023, an in-season tournament, the Commissioner’s Cup, was created in part so that a cut of proceeds could help fund the group and its outreach.

WNBA players have a long history of political and social activism and have been active in other elections and social issues. The likely elevation of Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket has spurred increased interest in the November election.

“This is a big, big election,” said A’ja Wilson of Team USA and the Las Vegas Aces, who like Harris is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “We are always going to stand behind her in that sense.”

Stewart intimated that plans are just being formed. As interest in women’s basketball has surged this year, the league is drawing significant television audiences and live crowds for games. As such, it has an ability to get its message to more people than in the past.

“Everything we have been working for this year, the Commissioner Cup, has been about voting rights, reproductive rights,” Stewart said. “The things that she stands for we also stand for. So making sure we can definitely stay united and continue to push the message of registering to vote and where to vote and pushing the resources behind it.”

Team USA is seeking its eighth consecutive gold medal. It opens play against Japan on Monday at 3 p.m. ET.