Renee Montgomery, a two-time WNBA champion turned co-owner, partner, and vice president of the Atlanta Dream, continues to break barriers both on and off the court. Her journey from player to executive highlights her dedication to pushing boundaries for women’s sports and amplifying diverse voices.

During an interview with Blavity after the “Creating Cultural Capital in Women’s Sports” panel at Ally, UnitedMasters and Earn Your Leisure’s Earn Your Masters experience during Art Basel and Miami Art Week, Montgomery talked about her recent documentary and ascent of the WNBA and being a franchise exec now.

On building representation through storytelling

Montgomery has stepped. into the entertainment industry with her production company, Think Tank Productions, co-founded with her wife, Sirena Grace. Their goal is simple yet transformative: to tell authentic stories that showcase real representation.

“Everybody has a production company it seems like, and for good reasons,” she said. “For instance, our production company, Think Tank Productions, was started alongside my wife, Sirena Grace. And the main thing that we wanted to see was authentic storytelling that had representation.”

Montgomery highlighted the importance of showcasing powerful roles for Black professionals, saying, “I know plenty of Black lawyers, I know plenty of Black doctors, I know plenty of Black attorneys, but you don’t necessarily see these power roles being given and lead roles being given.” She emphasized that their mission isn’t just about representation; it’s about creating excellent content that happens to be diverse.

“We’re going to make a good [projects], and it’s just so happens [that it will] have representation,” she explained.

Creating Cultural Capital in Women’s Sports panel featuring Renee Montgomery, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas — Photo: Vinny Nolan (mpvinny300)

Reflections on the WNBA’s growth

As the subject of the 2024 Roku Original documentary A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery, she reflected on how much the WNBA has evolved since the project began, given that production started on the project several years back.

“It’s exciting to see that,” Montgomery said. “Some of the things in the documentary, they were more so a hope and not necessarily something that we saw was happening now, but now we see it where… the WNBA as a product is A1. There’s nothing better.”

She noted the growing recognition of women’s basketball in media coverage, which jumped from 4% to 15% in just two years. “This type of momentum is the only thing you could dream of,” she added.

Transitioning from player to executive

Discussing her transition from player to WNBA executive, Montgomery acknowledged the league’s youth compared to its male counterparts like the NBA and NFL. “The WNBA is 28 years old, so I have to remind myself that… we’re still in our infancy stage in a sense of growing,” she said.

However, Montgomery is optimistic about the league’s trajectory. “You can just feel that the shift is happening, and everybody wants to be onboard of the train as it goes,” she remarked. From growing fan engagement to increasing media rights deals, Montgomery believes women’s sports are experiencing unprecedented growth.

She also pointed out the burgeoning fandom for WNBA players, akin to what male athletes experience. “It’s starting to be the same in the WNBA, where we know a lot about our favorite athletes now, more so than I’ve ever seen before,” she said.

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