July 18, 2017; Seattle Times
When the WBNA’s Seattle Storm went up against the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night, its ownership-led initiative in support of Planned Parenthood was front and center, marking, according to a Storm spokesperson, the first time a sports franchise has partnered with Planned Parenthood. But, of course, the Storm is one of a very few sports franchises owned by women.
Accompanying a pre-game rally and an online auction, the Storm pledged to give $5 from each ticket sold on Tuesday to Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI).
“No other sports team has been brave enough to do this, but the Seattle Storm is,” Christine Charbonneau, CEO of PPGNHI, said at the rally. Those attending the game were greeted with signs on each seat declaring, “I stand with Planned Parenthood”.
Tuesday night’s game was the only nationally televised home game of the year, a factor in choosing a date for the event, according to Storm co-owner Dawn Trudeau. Trudeau told the rally that “the first people to lose health care are usually women.” She urged attendees to dedicate themselves to the cause of women’s health.
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“The thing that is really important to remember is that things don’t end today, after this evening,” Trudeau said at the rally.
A former co-owner had her own thoughts:
Outside KeyArena, a former co-owner of the Storm, retired Seattle judge Anne Levinson, acknowledged that a Planned Parenthood partnership would be considered “out there.”
But Levinson did a bit of musing herself—with a hard edge. What if, she asked, finding a place to buy firearms were to become as difficult as finding access to birth control and abortion services has become in much of the country?—Ruth McCambridge