{"id":239045,"date":"2025-10-20T17:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/239045\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T17:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:17:08","slug":"ned-lemonts-proposal-ties-teacher-pensions-to-wnba-team-investment-inklings-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/239045\/","title":{"rendered":"Ned Lemont\u2019s proposal ties teacher pensions to WNBA team investment \u2013 Inklings News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"As<\/a> <\/p>\n

As Connecticut considers investing pension funds in the WNBA\u2019s Connecticut Sun, many educators question the financial risk.<\/p>\n

Governor Ned Lemont is weighing a controversial proposal to use Connecticut\u2019s public pension funds, including teacher and public-employee pension funds, to help purchase a WNBA<\/a> team the Connecticut Sun. This is in an effort to keep the team in state.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Sun franchise began as an expansion team called the Orlando Magic in 1999 and was later bought under the Mohegan tribe ownership in 2003 where it was renamed and relocated. Now, after more than two decades of ownership, the tribe has put the franchise up for sale.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lemont\u2019s working plan aims to keep the team in Connecticut. This is after a Boston-based investment group offered 325 million in July, threatening to relocate the franchise by 2027. Several other bids have also emerged, including one reportedly tied to Wisconsin investors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under this concept, the state would not take full ownership of the team. Instead, pension funds could acquire a minority stake alongside private investors. However, the idea of using taxpayer backed pension money to buy a professional sports team has sparked debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/p>\n

It seems like investing in the WNBA is risky considering the importance of the pension funds to so many teachers\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jonathon Shepro<\/p>\n

Supporters of the proposal argue that WNBA is experiencing unprecedented growth, making the purchase a potentially effective investment. League viewership, attendance and merchant sales have surged in recent years, and team values have climbed dramatically. For example, the Indiana Fever, led by superstar point guard Caitlin Clark, grew by 273% in the last year according to Sportico.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, many teachers<\/a> remain skeptical. The state\u2019s pension system already faces a $37 billion shortfall according to Connecticut Mirror<\/a>. For many teachers, the idea of investing in a sports team, even one growing in popularity, is dicey and could expose essential savings to unnecessary financial danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like investing in the WNBA is risky considering the importance of the pension funds to so many teachers,\u201d AP Economics teacher Jonathon Shepro said. \u201cWhat happens if the value goes down\u2014 will I not get my pension?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, English teacher Kim Herzog shares this unease, reflecting the apprehension among educators who depend on the system for retirement security.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Buying a WNBA team] is not what that money is for. It seems unrelated and unnecessary,\u201d Herzog said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As discussions continue, the proposal brings up the question whether tax-payer backed pension funds should be used to support sport franchises. For now, Connecticut\u2019s teachers and taxpayers are waiting to see whether Lamont\u2019s proposal gains momentum, or fades under pressure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Connecticut considers investing pension funds in the WNBA\u2019s Connecticut Sun, many educators question the financial risk. Governor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-239045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}