NFL legend Tom Brady’s acquisition of an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Aces, finalized Monday, was met with enthusiasm from Aces players, star A’ja Wilson revealed.
When Wilson learned that Brady – a seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback – would become a minority owner of the Aces, her jaw dropped, she said Monday on SiriusXM show “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.”
“Oh man, it was super dope,” she said. “It was super, super cool just to be able just to have someone that matters and cares for us to come in and be like, ‘I wanna help push this needle.’ And it’s something that we always needed.
“We always love when people have a seat at the table, and obviously Tom Brady has a seat at the table and for him to reach out and say, ‘I wanna be a part of this and helping it grow,’ it was truly, truly a lot of fun. I think we were all going in our group chat going crazy, because obviously Kelsey Plum barked at you, which was kind of weird, but now it’s kind of cool. (laughs) … We’re truly thankful.”
Brady, for his part, said it was a “long process” to get approved by the WNBA’s Board of Owners. The announcement of Brady’s intention to join the Aces’ ownership group was announced all the way back in March, but approval came just ahead of the team’s second consecutive WNBA Finals appearance.
Of course, the approval seemed to be a formality, with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert issuing a statement in which she praised the acquisition.
“Obviously women’s sports has meant a lot to me my whole life. I had three older sisters who were all better athletes than I was,” Brady said. “My whole childhood was going to watch them play at the softball fields, at the soccer fields, on the basketball courts. I love women’s sports. I love the empowerment that it gives young women, a great direction.
“Sports teaches us all so much and it’s certainly not reserved for men. And I love that women are getting the type of attention for the incredible athletes that they are in a lot of different sports, tennis, golf and basketball obviously. I love the sport and I love watching you guys play.”
