Storm co-owners on sports and LGBTQ+ inclusivity

And yet, the WNBA, which began in 1997, initially marketed itself to a heterosexual male audience and struggled for years with LGBTQ+ affirmation.

“First and foremost, the Storm lives and has always lived at the intersection of business, sports and social change,” Gilder said. “If you are going to be a female athlete, you were going to have to figure out how to advocate for yourself."

In 2014, the WNBA became the first professional league in the country to celebrate Pride, which was a landmark decision at the time.

Ten years later, the WNBA is arguably the most active league as it pertains to social advocacy, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2017, the Storm announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Planned Parenthood, which included a rally outside of KeyArena and a donation of ticket revenue.

And in 2020, the Storm voiced its support for the 2020 Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, becoming one of the few American professional sports teams to publicly endorse a political candidate.

Is it financially risky?

“We really haven’t gotten much pushback to be honest,” Brummel said. “We’re very clear upfront; this is who we are. And if our values align and if our actions align, a partnership is probably really, really smart.”

This season, during the five-game Commissioner’s Cup series, the Storm partnered with Pro-Choice Washington to raise awareness and funds for reproductive freedom and voter engagement.

The Storm was scheduled to host the Dallas Wings on Pride Night, June 29 at Climate Pledge Arena.

“Our goal was to keep this team in the community for our community, where people could come and see great basketball, see great women’s role models, and where we can prove to people that women’s sports was a real viable business,” Brummel said, noting the Storm recently drew a franchise-record-setting sellout crowd of 18,343. “You walk around the arena and you see how many people are coming to the games these days. You see the diversity of people coming to the games these days. You see the acceptance among our fan base of everyone who comes to the Storm games.”

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