Connecticut Senators Rip WNBA Handling of Sun Sale

The WNBA’s handling of the Connecticut Sun sale process has attracted high-level political attention.

Both of the state’s U.S. senators have recently weighed in to express their displeasure with the league and push to keep the team in the state.

The Sun moved from Florida to Uncasville, Conn., in 2003, and made it to four WNBA Finals in the state. Now the team could be on the move as its owners, the Mohegan Tribe, consider selling amid an explosion of fan and investor interest in women’s basketball. The league has gotten involved in the sale process, exercising its right to approve any franchise sale or relocation, and the team is in limbo as it weighs competing offers.

On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter addressed to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert that criticized the league’s attempt to “block proposals” to keep the team in the Northeast and “strong-arm” the tribe into selling the team back to the league for a lower offer.

Blumenthal expressed support for a bid from the state of Connecticut for a minority stake that would see the team split between its current home in Uncasville and the state capital of Hartford, which has a larger arena that seats about 16,000 people. The state also said it would build the Sun a dedicated practice facility in Hartford, one of players’ chief complaints about the organization.

“Any further attempts by the WNBA to use its considerable governance and market power over the Connecticut Sun to limit or dictate negotiations with the state of Connecticut could be an unreasonable restraint of trade and interference with the market that would violate federal antitrust laws,” Blumenthal wrote. The senator also noted his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee and said he “will demand investigations and enforcement actions” if the league tries to influence the negotiations further.

He also noted Hartford’s success in hosting UConn men’s and women’s basketball and NCAA tournaments, as well as the Sun’s history as one of the league’s most successful franchises since relocating to Connecticut.

Blumenthal’s letter comes a week after his colleague Sen. Chris Murphy posted a thread on social media calling out the league for pressuring the Tribe to “accept a low-ball offer from a Trump-backed billionaire,” referring to Tilman Fertitta. The Rockets owner, who is also President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Italy, has led Houston’s WNBA bid, which received praise from Engelbert as she announced Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia as the next expansion teams this summer. 

“Why is the @WNBA telling the tribe who they need to sell to? It’s the tribe’s decision,” Murphy wrote. “The @WNBA should approve the Hartford deal. Keep the Sun in the Basketball Capital of the World.”

A spokesperson for the WNBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Mohegan Leadership continues to actively explore different avenues of investment opportunities for the CT Sun. … No agreement has been reached at this time, and we are not at liberty to discuss the details of any potential concepts under consideration,” a spokesperson for Mohegan leadership said in a statement Monday.

The Mohegan Tribe had been considering two $325 million bids, one led by former Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca that would see the team move to Boston, and another led by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry that would move the team to Hartford. After Pagliuca and the Mohegan Tribe first reached a tentative agreement, Engelbert never presented the offer to the league’s Board of Governors, causing the exclusivity window to expire. The WNBA offered to buy the team for $250 million and then relocate the franchise to a market of the league’s choosing, most likely Houston.

The WNBA Board of Governors would need to approve any sale or relocation of the team. A relocation fee paid on top of the sale price could determine where the team lands.