HARTFORD, CT — It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Women’s National Basketball Association owes its success to Connecticut, according to Attorney General William Tong. For that reason, and the team’s loyal fanbase, Tong said he was willing to fight to keep the Connecticut Sun from being sold and moved.
“Our state is the epicenter and heart of women’s basketball and a dominant force in the sport,” Tong wrote in a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert. “There would be no WNBA — and no worldwide growth in the popularity of women’s basketball — without the players, coaches, and dedicated fanbase in and from Connecticut.”
Tong wrote to Englebert requesting documents related to the league’s role in the potential sale of the Connecticut Sun. The team, owned by the Mohegan Tribe and based at the Mohegan Sun casino, has played in Connecticut since relocating from Orlando in 1999.
Tong in his letter said he was “troubled by recent reports in the press that the WNBA may be wrongfully blocking a sale of the Connecticut Sun that would keep the team in Connecticut in a manner that may be anticompetitive and may violate state and federal law.”
He added that he was further concerned “about press reports that, in lieu of a sale of the team to a Connecticut-based buyer, the WNBA is demanding that the team be sold to the league itself at a price tens of millions of dollars below market value, which could then be sold later to an owner approved to move the team to a city that is part of the league’s plan of expansion.”
Tong requested five specific sets of information:
- A copy of the WNBA operating agreement;
- WNBA’s membership agreement between the Connecticut Sun and the WNBA;
- WNBA’s operating manual;
- WNBA’s league rules and regulations; and
- Copies of all valuations of the Connecticut Sun, including any appraisal, offer, and/or expression of interest.
He further requested a meeting with league officials after he had a chance to review the requested materials.
“Our dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase in Connecticut has strongly supported the Connecticut Sun and the WNBA for over twenty years; to lose this franchise would be devastating to our state’s economy, our community and our state,” he wrote. “Please understand Connecticut will fight hard for our players, coaches and fans, and we will take all steps necessary to keep the team in Connecticut where it belongs.”
The league did not immediately respond to a request for comment emailed through the contact portal under the media inquiries tab.
State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, the House minority leader, said Tong was “looking in the wrong direction” and should instead focus his attention on a proposed plan that would see the state purchase a minority share in the team. He accused Tong of “meddling in the private business dealings of a professional sports league” and said Tong should “demand and share with the public all of the details about this proposal — information beyond the Governor’s media soundbites — to make to make sure it isn’t a costly boondoggle.”
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