WNBA

WNBA superstar Renee Montgomery -- a 2-time champ who sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice work -- is retiring from pro basketball, she confirms to TMZ Sports.

"This is my 'Dear Basketball' moment," 34-year-old Montgomery said on the TMZ Sports TV Show (which she co-hosts nightly on FS1) ... "I'm gonna hang up my Kobes!"

When asked why she's stepping away now, Montgomery explained, "I just feel like there's so much momentum that I’ve created just with the things going on here in Atlanta … and I don't want to stop it."

Montgomery had one helluva career -- in college, she led UConn to a national championship in 2009 and was such a legend, the University added her to the "Huskies of Honor" (essentially the school's Hall of Fame) while she was still an active player!

She was a 1st round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft (4th player selected) and won 2 WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx.

Montgomery was an All-Star in 2011 and won the league's 6th Woman of the Year award in 2012.

During her illustrious career, Montgomery also played with the Connecticut Sun, Seattle Storm and most recently, the Atlanta Dream.

WNBA star Layshia Clarendon has undergone successful surgery to have her breasts removed -- and is now going public about it in hopes of inspiring other trans athletes.

Clarendon -- who identifies as non-binary -- uses all pronouns (she/her/they/them/he/him).

In other words ... by society's standards, Layshia is comfortable being referred to as a woman ... but personally, doesn't identify solely with one specific gender.

Sources close to Layshia tell us the 29-year-old NY Liberty star underwent breast removal surgery (also known as "top surgery") in early January and is recovering well.

"I’m feeling free & euphoric in my body & want Trans people to know and see that we’ve always existed & no one can erase us," Layshia said in a statement.

You may be wondering ... are there any issues with the WNBA, which has the "W" for "Women" right there in the name of the league?

The short answer is no.

We're told Layshia has been in contact with the league and there are ZERO issues with her status as a player.

As one source close to Layshia explained to us, "Layshia does not identify as a man. They're not journeying to a destination. Gender is actually a spectrum."

One of the main reasons Layshia is going public with her story ... we're told Layshia wants to initiate a "very real, inclusive, sensitive conversation about how to INCLUDE trans people in sports, instead of how to exclude them."

"Trans youth want to participate in sports ... let's have the conversation."

WNBA star Asia Durr says COVID has wreaked havoc on her body -- and the damage is so severe, the 23-year-old isn't sure if she'll ever play basketball again.

"My life has completely changed since June 8," Durr said on HBO's "Real Sports" ... noting the day she was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Since then, Durr -- the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft -- says she's lost 32 pounds after suffering some horrific symptoms. Her usual playing weight is 151 lbs.

"I couldn't breathe. I was spitting up blood. It was just lung pain that was just so severe. It felt like somebody took a long knife and was just stabbing you in your lungs each second."

She continued, "I woke up 2 o'clock in the morning, vomiting, going back and forth to the bathroom. I couldn't keep anything down."

Durr was a superstar at Louisville before being drafted by the NY Liberty -- but she had to miss the entire 2020 season due to her illness.

In fact,. Asia says she hasn't been able to pick up a basketball since her diagnosis because her doctors fear her health is still too fragile.

"I've talked to doctors and they told me I'm not cleared yet. I'm not cleared to do anything physically which could cause flare ups."

"That's what's really hard for me because in life whenever something was like hard, I would go and play. I cant even do that now. I cant even shoot a free throw."

Durr issued a statement after the segment aired Tuesday night -- saying, "I’m grateful that I get to tell my story to the world. It’s definitely been a challenge, but gotta keep fighting. Only choice."

LeBron James might have some stiff competition (or a great partner!) if the WNBA's Atlanta Dream does go up for sale ... 'cause Renee Montgomery says she's dead serious about potentially buying the squad too.

"Listen, I'm interested," the WNBA star said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 (which she co-hosts). "I think that people talking about it are actually serious. And, I'm actually serious."

Of course, the Dream is NOT for sale at the moment ... but team owner Kelly Loeffler -- who just lost her U.S. Senate run-off election in Georgia this week -- has become a villain in the league, and it's led to speculation a sale could be imminent.

In fact, it seems Loeffler's players would actually prefer that ... 'cause members of the Dream have been so outraged by Loeffler's controversial comments during the Black Lives Matter movement this summer, they openly encouraged people to vote her out of office.

And, if Loeffler does end up selling over it all, LeBron tweeted on Tuesday he was "gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream," adding, "Whose in?"

Apparently, Montgomery is ... with the 34-year-old saying Wednesday, "If everything goes OK, I would definitely be interested."

Montgomery is no stranger to owning orgs ... as we previously reported, the WNBA player -- who played for the Dream before taking a hiatus to focus on social justice issues in 2020 -- co-owns the Beasts team in the new Fan Controlled Football league.

WNBA star Renee Montgomery has a brand new business partner -- she's joined Marshawn Lynch as a co-owner of a football team in the new Fan Controlled Football league!

Montgomery announced the move on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 (which she co-hosts) -- saying she's officially a shot-caller with the Beasts, one of four teams in the new FCF league.

The move makes Renee the first female owner in the league -- where she'll compete against other teams owned by NFL stars like Richard Sherman and Austin Ekeler. Quavo is also a co-owner of the Glacier Boyz.

As we first reported, Johnny Manziel just signed a deal to play in the FCF with a team called The Zappers -- and Renee jokingly admitted she was bitter about the deal, because she wanted Johnny on her squad!!

The FCF is a fast-paced, full-contact, 7-on-7 league -- with teams competing on a 50-yard field. All of the games will take place at a facility in Atlanta, where Montgomery is based.

Montgomery says she'll expand on her decision to buy into the team on her podcast "Remotely Renee," which drops on Tuesday.

The season kicks off in February -- and all of the 60-minute games will be live streamed on Twitch. The league says they've already locked in players who formerly competed in the CFL, XFL and Division 1 college football.

Vickie Johnson has reportedly accepted the head coaching job for the Dallas Wings -- ending the WNBA's year-long drought without a Black woman in a head coaching position.

Johnson has head coaching experience -- she led the San Antonio Stars back in 2017, before the team moved to Las Vegas and hired Bill Laimbeer to run the team.

She's served as an assistant coach with the Stars under Laimbeer ever since.

But now, 48-year-old Johnson will take over in Dallas for Brian Agler -- who was fired back in October after the team went 8-14 in 2020, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

Johnson was a pretty solid player back in the day -- she was the 2nd-round pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft and was a 2-time All-Star before retiring in 2009.

The WNBA did NOT have a single Black woman as a head coach during the 2020 season, which has raised eyebrows considering an overwhelming majority of the players in the league are Black women.

In fact, of the 144 players in the league in 2019, 127 reportedly identified as Black or women of color, according to SB Nation.

Kelly Loeffler -- the Atlanta Dream co-owner who bashed the WNBA's support of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer -- is headed for a runoff reelection in Georgia to keep her senate spot.

The 49-year-old Republican, who advocated for WNBA players to wear U.S. flags instead of BLM apparel in the league's Florida bubble back in July, will face off with Democrat Raphael Warnock for the position.

Loeffler was appointed to the spot by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in Dec. 2019 after Senator Johnny Isakson resigned due to health concerns. She'll now need to win a January runoff to finish out the final 2 years of Isakson's term.

Loeffler had a chance to win the position outright Tuesday night ... but after she and no other candidate received the required 50% of the vote to claim the win -- the race is now headed to a runoff on Jan. 5.

The reported results of Tuesday's vote had Warnock at 31.9%, Loeffler at 26.5% and Republican Doug Collins at 20.4%.

Loeffler was HEAVILY criticized by WNBA players this summer after she wrote a letter to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying, "I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement."

In the letter, Loeffler explained, "The truth is, we need less -- not more politics in sports."

"In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote. And now more than ever, we should be united in our goal to remove politics from sports."

WNBA legend Cappie Pondexter has been arrested in Los Angeles and is NOT missing ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The LAPD tells us the 37-year-old was taken into custody Tuesday and booked on a misdemeanor battery charge.

We're told Pondexter refused to ID herself to cops so she was booked as "Jane Doe" ... and was held in jail until she was released earlier Thursday.

Now, multiple law enforcement officials tell us the woman has been identified as Pondexter.

Details of the alleged incident are unclear ... we're working on it.

Pondexter -- a 2-time WNBA champ -- was thought to have been missing ... after those close to her said she hadn't been heard from since Monday.

In fact, the WNBPA released a statement Thursday saying, "We are sharing this out of concern for our fellow WNBPA sister, Cappie Pondexter."

"If you have any information, please contact authorities. Please help us spread the word and ensure that she is safe."

Cappie is a hoops legend ... and played for the Phoenix Mercury, New York Liberty, Chicago Sky, L.A. Sparks, Indiana Fever and several international teams.

The bubble life couldn't stop the Seattle Storm from getting their party on after winning the WNBA Finals ... with the players raging and boozing all night!!

Breanna Stewart and the gang easily handled the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 to sweep their way to the team's 4th title Tuesday night ... and immediately got to boozin' and dancin'.

Natasha Howard documented the whole thing ... with the team downing shots and bubbly in a club-like atmosphere inside their bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL.

There was Chris Brown, Soulja Boy and Megan Thee Stallion blaring ... with Alysha Clark dropping it low while sippin' straight from the bottle!!

It may not have been the REAL kinda rager the ladies were hoping for ... but a title is a title and they partied like champs.

The funniest part is how QUICKLY Breanna wanted to party -- crashing Sue Bird's interview to demand she answer only one more question so they could go get lit.

Congrats to the champions!!

WNBA star Maya Moore just dropped a bombshell -- she MARRIED the man she helped free from prison!!

Moore -- considered one of the greatest WNBA players EVER -- had stepped away from the league in 2019 and 2020 to focus on social justice issues ... starting with freeing Jonathan Irons.

40-year-old Irons was serving a 50-year prison sentence stemming from a 1998 burglary and assault conviction in Missouri, despite no real evidence proving his guilt. Irons was only 16 at the time of the conviction.

Moore says she met Irons when she was 18 through a prison ministry program and grew close over the years while fighting for his freedom.

When he was released from prison in July, Moore was there waiting for him ... and they tied the knot shortly after.

"We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work that we are doing together, but doing it as a married couple," Moore announced on "Good Morning America."

"We got married a couple months ago and we're excited to just continue this new chapter of life together."

Moore explained the growth of their relationship ... saying, "Over the last 13 years we have just developed a friendship and just entered into this huge battle to get him home and just over time it was pretty clear what the Lord was doing in our hearts and now we're sitting here today, starting a whole new chapter together."

Irons told GMS it became clear he wanted to marry Moore while he was still locked up at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, but didn't want to make a move until he was free.

"I wanted to marry her but at the same time protect her because being in a relationship with a man in prison, it's extremely difficult and painful," Irons said.

"I didn't want her to feel trapped and I wanted her to feel open and have the ability any time if this is too much for you, go and find somebody. Live your life. Because this is hard."

Irons says he eventually proposed in a hotel room after hanging out with some close friends.

"It was just me and her in the room and I got down on my knees and I looked up at her and she kind of knew what was going on and I said, 'Will you marry me?' She said, 'Yes!'"

As for the wedding reception, Moore and Irons say they had special COVID protocols -- including guests in masks and social distancing.

Shredded?? Check. Hot?? Yup. Vacation in paradise?? Better believe it!!

Star couple Caroline Wozniacki and David Lee have taken their summer getaway around the globe to Italy ... soaking up the sun at a pool in Portofino.

Of course, the former tennis superstar and ex-NBA hooper have been doing a bit of sight-seeing after Woz announced her retirement in January ... recently hitting up Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France.

And, just like in France, the couple ditched their clothes for their swimsuits ... proving there's no such thing as a retirement bod for either of them.

Woz decided to go with a one-piece patterned suit this time around ... although we know she's a big fan of bikinis -- even rocking one for a hike last week.

But, CW ain't the only one who can show off -- gotta give Lee his credit as well!!

We'll be sure to keep you posted on their next stop on the Hot Couple World Tour.

Atlanta Dream star Renee Montgomery says she straight-up disagrees with her boss -- claiming Sen. Kelly Loeffler is wrong for thinking fans will turn on the league overeats support of Black Lives Matter.

FYI, Senator Loeffler (R-GA) is a co-owner of the Dream -- and made it clear she's AGAINST the league's social justice initiatives that support BLM claiming it will rub some WNBA fans the wrong way.

"I think a lot of people feel that they may not have a place," Loeffler told ESPN ... "They may feel excluded from this sport and other sports that make them feel like American values aren't at the core of what we're doing here."

Loeffler was also critical of the Black Lives Matter organization -- saying it's much different from the BLM movement, which she strongly condemns.

"The Black Lives Matter political organization advocates things like defunding and abolishing the police, abolishing our military, emptying our prisons, destroying the nuclear family. It promotes violence and antisemitism. To me, this is not what our league stands for."

Enter Montgomery ... who played 2 seasons with the Dream -- and responded to Loeffler's comments on the "TMZ Sports" TV show.

Montgomery says it's great that Loeffler is open to having a deeper 1-on-1 conversation about the issue ... but for now, they remain on opposite sides of the fence.

Long story short, Montgomery says the WNBA is embracing the BLM movement -- NOT the group -- and she's frustrated that certain people like Loeffler are trying to conflate them.

Montgomery -- an 11-year WNBA vet and 2-time WNBA champion -- also says she doesn't believe fans will leave in droves because players are fighting for social justice.

"If its gonna bother a fan that much that a player wants to promote equality -- that a player wants to promote the movement -- then maybe [those fans] shouldn’t watch it."

Montgomery adds, "[Loeffler is] saying they're gonna lose fans but I think a lot of people will be welcoming to the idea of inclusion."

Renee also wonders why Loeffler is digging in her heels so strongly to continue to be a part of a league with such different social values -.

"I don’t understand why you would want to be a part of something that has such different beliefs than you."

Montgomery recently opted out of her 3rd year with the Dream to focus on social justice issues -- but hasn't retired and could rejoin the league next year.

When asked if the rift with Loeffler would dissuade her from rejoining the Atlanta Dream -- Montgomery said it would not ... explaining how the organization as a whole has been incredibly supportive.

"I have no problem with the Dream organization at all."

WNBA superstar Skylar Diggins-Smith wants justice in her home state ... for the black man who's near-lynching was captured on video, so she's fired off a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

TMZ has obtained a copy of the letter Skylar and fellow Roc Nation client Yo Gotti sent to the Department of Justice regarding the case of Vauhxx Booker ... who was horrifyingly attacked over the Fourth of July weekend.

Video of the incident showed several white men pinning Vauhxx up against a tree and calling for someone to bring a noose for him. Passersby eventually intervened and convinced the men to release Vauhxx, and although state charges have been filed against the suspects ... Skylar and Gotti want the feds to get involved.

In the letter they write, "A violent racist racist attack such as this, additionally, is a federal crime." Additionally, they say the attempted lynching of Vauhxx, a civil rights activist, "demands your attention and your full efforts to guarantee that justice is done, by prosecuting the people who attacked Vauhxx Booker for their violent hate crime."

Skylar was born in South Bend, IN, and became a Notre Dame star hoops star. Both she and Gotti have enlisted Team Roc to throw some legal muscle -- attorney Joe Tacopina -- behind the fight to get justice for Vauhxx.

Breonna Taylor's mother tells TMZ Sports ... she's VERY aware of the NBA and WNBA stars who are constantly keeping the spotlight on her daughter's killing -- and she's hoping it finally leads to justice.

"Everyone raising their voices for justice are what keeps this family going each day," Tamika Palmer tells us.

"What is being done by the NBA and the WNBA is amazing. Now, it’s time for the attorney general to listen, to charge everyone responsible for Bree’s murder and to get overdue justice."

"Bree should be with us. The world was a better place with her."

Tamika is specifically referring to pro ballers like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Tobias Harris, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving and more who have spoken out publicly to put pressure on Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to charge the police officers who shot and killed Breonna in March while executing a no-knock warrant.

In the WNBA, the entire league is wearing warm-up shirts with Breonna's name as a tribute.

And, get this ... Tamika was also involved in a zoom call over the weekend with more than 30 NBA players, according to family attorney Lonita Baker ... who tells us they all spoke about how to continue to use their platform to get results.

We're told Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were just 2 of the players on the call -- and at one point, CP3 discussed how players were considering not playing this season to keep the focus on social justice issues.

Gross laundry rooms, worms on the floor and maybe even bed bugs.

Those are some of the issues WNBA players are allegedly dealing with at their bubble environment lodging in Florida -- but now the league says its handling the problems.

Players began arriving to Bradenton, Florida this week to resume their shortened 22-game season at the famous IMG Academy ... but almost immediately some disturbing videos of the housing situations began popping up online.

ESPN producer Kayla Johnson posted a video of a busted-looking laundry room with a mousetrap on the wall. WNBA player A'ja Wilson said on Twitter the video is authentic.

Another video showed a gross-lookin' worm on the floor of one of the rooms.

ESPN also says players have complained about a broken bed, faulty plumbing and sub-par food options. There were also complaints about bed bugs but ESPN says exterminators were called in and found no signs of the pests.

Now, the WNBA says it's taking action -- "We have been working closely with IMG and the Players Association to address issues players have expressed about one of the housing locations on campus."

"IMG is accommodating all player requests regarding these issues, including moving players to other accommodations."

The good news ... it seems most players are having a positive experience in the bubble -- with nice housing situations and quality food.

The WNBA is clapping back at a team co-owner who is blasting the league for supporting Black Lives Matter ... in a war that's exploding fast.

The woman at the center of the controversy is Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia) -- a co-owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream franchise.

Sen. Loeffler penned a letter to WNBA commish Cathy Engelbert strongly opposing the league's plans to display the words "Black Lives Matter" when the season resumes later this month.

She's also against the WNBA's plan to honor victims of police violence ... including Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and Vanessa Guillen.

"I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure, harbored anti-Semitic views, and promoted violence and destruction across the country," Sen. Loeffler said in her letter.

"I believe it is totally misaligned with the values and goals of the WNBA and the Atlanta Dream, where we support tolerance and inclusion."

"The truth is, we need less -- not more politics in sports. In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote," she added.

WNBA commish Cathy Engelbert responded in a statement Tuesday -- clearly trying to distance the league from Loeffler.

"The WNBA is based on the principle of equal and fair treatment of all people and we, along with the teams and players, will continue to use our platforms to vigorously advocate for social justice," Englebert said.

"Sen. Kelly Loeffler has not served as a Governor of the Atlanta Dream since October 2019 and is no longer involved in the day-to-day business of the team."

Translation -- pound sand.