Connecticut Sun Sale Ends Era of Native American Ownership

The Connecticut Sun have played their final game in Uncasville, Connecticut, after 24 seasons, following a sale to a new ownership group based in Houston, as The Guardian first reported.

Founded in 2003, the Sun were the first independently owned WNBA team and the first professional sports franchise owned by a Native American entity. The Mohegan Tribe purchased the team from the Orlando Miracle for $5 million during a 2002 league restructuring, The Guardian reports. The franchise operated out of the Mohegan Sun Arena, located on the tribe's reservation in Uncasville.

For the Mohegan Tribe, the team represented a milestone in economic self-sufficiency and sovereignty. The tribe, which has more than 2,400 registered members, fought for federal recognition granted in 1994 and later recovered ancestral lands along the Thames River, as detailed by The Guardian. Tribal members and fans told the outlet that the team's departure mirrors historical patterns of displacement and the erasure of Indigenous presence.

According to The Guardian, the move leaves the New England region without a WNBA team and has sparked such controversy that the state of Connecticut is considering legal action. Val Ackerman, who served as WNBA president when the team launched, told The Guardian that while the prospect of Native ownership was positive, the franchise was ultimately awarded to the Mohegan Tribe due to the region's basketball popularity and the availability of a 9,000-seat arena.