by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — Attempts by the Women’s National Basketball Association to interfere with negotiations for the sale of the Connecticut Sun basketball team could constitute an antitrust violation, US Sen. Richard Blumenthal told WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert.
The team is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which is considering offers to sell the team.
Blumenthal said the league is using its governance powers to block proposals that would keep the team in Connecticut or New England.
The team, which began as the Orlando Miracle in 1999, was bought by the tribe in 2003 and moved to the Mohegan Sun Arena.
In his letter, Blumenthal warns the WNBA that its interference could violate federal antitrust laws.
“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.
“As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over antitrust matters, I am closely monitoring the WNBA’s actions and will demand investigations and enforcement actions from the appropriate federal authorities if it takes any step to hinder or constrain Connecticut’s negotiations.”
The league did not immediately return a request for comment emailed through its media inquiry contact address.
Blumenthal in his letter said the Sun has been a cornerstone of the state’s sports identity for more than 20 years, “hosting world-class, professional women’s basketball in a state with a long tradition of basketball excellence.”
The team also is among the league’s most commercially successful and has a loyal fan base, he wrote.
“In a growing league, the Connecticut Sun has stood out among their peers,” he wrote. “And that support is increasing as the Sun has sold out 2025 season tickets — the first time in franchise history.”
But, Blumenthal wrote, with the Mohegan Tribe entertaining offers to sell the team, “the WNBA used its league governance powers to block proposals that would keep the team in New England, instead seeking to move it thousands of miles from its fan base to cities such as Cleveland or Houston.”
The league also offered $250 million to buy the team itself, Blumenthal said.
The state also proposed a minority ownership in the team, and a split home arrangement between the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford.
“Connecticut’s proposal would value the team at more than the WNBA’s offer and, with the proposal to build a new practice facility and play in PeoplesBank Arena, ensure that the Sun could easily grow further and achieve an even greater attendance than the 2024 league average,” he wrote.
He concluded that moving the team out of Connecticut, “would leave New England without a WNBA team, and disrupt the stability and growth the Sun have achieved over the years in the state, which has made it the successful franchise that it has become.”
Any further attempts by the WNBA to limit or dictate negotiations with the state “could be an unreasonable restraint of trade and interference with the market that would violate federal antitrust laws. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over antitrust matters, I am closely monitoring the WNBA’s actions and will demand investigations and enforcement actions from the appropriate federal authorities if it takes any step to hinder or constrain Connecticut’s negotiations.”