Dawn Porter’s compelling new documentary Power of the Dream, is now streaming on Prime Video, and chronicles the remarkable story of a group of WNBA players who boldly took a stand for social justice and rallied behind now-Senator Raphael Warnock.
According to Sports Business Journal, the film’s origins trace back to 2020, when then-U.S. Senator and former Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) publicly admonished the WNBA for voicing support for Black Lives Matter
amid the COVID-19 pandemic and height of social unrest.“Getting to the bubble felt like a win, and then we get smacked in the face with Kelly Loeffler’s letter,” said WNBA retiree and four-time titleholder Sue Bird.
“Saying she didn’t want us to have Black Lives Matter, Say Her Name [Breonna Taylor], anywhere involved in the season. I can vividly remember being like, ‘That’s bullshit. What do you mean? You own a WNBA team. You know exactly who we are. You know exactly what we represent.’”
In the aftermath of the high-profile conflict with the WNBA players, the league disclosed in 2021 that Loeffler and co-owner Mary Brock had divested their stake in the team, transferring ownership to a trio of new investors.
“It is our fervent wish that we shall never see again such an abuse of power and arrogant display of
privilege,” Women’s National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Terri Jackson said at the time, according to The Washington Post.According to a press release from Amazon MGM Studios, the documentary features candid firsthand perspectives from pivotal figures, including Bird, WNBA retiree Angel McCoughtry, the Los Angeles Sparks‘ Layshia Clarendon, Elizabeth Williams representing the Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm’s Nneka Ogwumike, as well as insights from prominent media voices Jemele Hill and Holly Rowe.
According to Amazon MGM Studios, Power of the Dream is presented by Prime Video Sports and hails from Industrial Media, Trilogy Films, Joy Mill Entertainment, and TOGETHXR. Tracee Ellis Ross is among the producers.
Check out the trailer below.