[Cabrera:] The NBA playoffs are expected to resume today, but only after players reached an agreement with their league to turn their unused arenas into polling locations for the November election, among other things. Now, this agreement comes after players essentially went on a strike after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. And other sports quickly followed. Baseball, hockey, the WNBA, all canceling games this week to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Now, if you've been paying attention, this boycott isn't surprising. Back in June, after the police killing of George Floyd, multiple WNBA players announced they would be sitting out the 2020 season. And Renee Montgomery, of the Atlanta Dream, is one of those players. She joins us live. Renee, thanks for being with us. Considering you've chosen to sit out the season for this cause, do you think the NBA strike three days was long enough?
[Renee Montgomery, Wnba Basketball Player:] Yes, I do. Because I think it sent a loud alarm. It rang an alarm that the players were not going to just allow whatever was going to happen and just keep continuing business as usual. So I think the players, you know, they had a plan. They decided that they didn't feel like playing that day so they didn't. And now they have some things coming out. As you mentioned, the arenas are now getting opened in multiple locations. So if nothing else happens, that is good. That's a step.
[Cabrera:] It's progress. This week, ahead of their game with your team, the Atlanta Dream, the Washington Mystics wore shirts honoring Jacob Blake. One the front, "Jacob Blake." On the back, they had drawn seven marks representing the seven bullet holes in Blake's back. They also kneeled and linked arms with the three other teams scheduled to play that night. At least four WNBA players, including yourself, have chosen to sit out the season, citing advocacy. What do you think of the fact that it's black women leading this movement in sports?
[Montgomery:] You know, I love it. I think it's time. It's time to bet on not just women but bet on black women. I think that it's if you look at our history, that's been something that black women have done over time for a long time. And over the WNBA's history, it's something the WNBA players have done for a long time. Me, being on the Minnesota team, in 2016, we wore shirts that said, "Change starts with us." That following football season, that's when Colin Kaepernick started to kneel so 2016 was the year where things really started to get a light shed on it. So this is not new to the WNBA and this is definitely not new to black women.
[Cabrera:] We always hear that saying, actions speak louder than words. You are putting your words into action and really taking up this cause. I want to ask you about the White House officials, including the president, reacting to the NBA strike this week. And just take a listen to what they said.
[Unidentified Male:] In my mind, it's absurd and silly. If they want to protest, I don't think we care.
[Jared Kushner, Senior Adviser To President Trump:] I think that the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves, financially.
[Trump:] They've become like a political organization. And that's not a good thing. I don't think that's a good thing for sports or for the country.
[Cabrera:] Jared Kushner, the second person you heard from there, he said he plans to reach out to Lebron James. I wonder, if you had the ear of someone like Kushner or maybe the president, what would you tell them?
[Montgomery:] Yes, I think everyone wants to split everything, right? They want the athletes to just be athletes. Just go play. Just do your job. But people don't understand that what happens in America, the circumstances, the climate of America, that brings things into your work, you know? When the social climate affects your work, and the political climate affects your job, well, then, that's a time now where you're like, wait a minute, I need to show out on my job real quick and see what's going on. So I think when the players and WNBA took a mental day, when the NBA took a day to boycott, and they made it clear that they're boycotting, they want you to know we're upset. We don't want business as usual while this is happening to our brothers in the street and our sisters in the street. So what I would say was this is, is a reality we're living. It's not just a political stunt. A lot of people think it was just a stunt. It's not a stunt. People are actually hurt. There are grown men crying on TV. It's not a stunt.
[Cabrera:] No. And it's life or death, I know, for a lot of people in your community. Your team, the Atlanta Dream, is co-owned by Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, who's repeatedly spoken out against the Black Lives Matter movement. If you do return to the game, do you think you can do so as part of the dream?
[Montgomery:] Well, you know, someone asked me yesterday on CNN if what Senator Loeffler was saying affected me personally, and when I answered yesterday, I said, no. But I should have clarified that, originally, it did affect me personally because I had interactions with Kelly before she became Senator Loeffler. So I was confused. But now, you know, I understand that this is her stance and her political stance. And so, for me, when I come back, I always tell people I opted out of this season because I wanted to focus, on this year, on social justice. So I'm definitely not thinking about next year just yet.
[Cabrera:] So do you think you'll play next season or are you going to, you know, make sure there's specific, concrete changes first?
[Montgomery:] No, I think I'll play next season. That's what I talked about. I only opted out of the 2020 season because I think that this moment in time look, I opted out, what, two and a half months ago. Look how much has happened. There's so much that's happened in this past week, in this past week, we had Mama Day, Jackie Robinson Day. We lost Chad Boseman. There's a lot going on this week. So when I said I was opting out for one season, people thought five months is such a little bit of time. But look what's happened in just two months. Look at what's happened in just a week, a day. So I feel like this moment is very important, and I wanted to be here for it.
[Cabrera:] I appreciate your optimism in all this. Thank you so much for speaking loud and proud. Renee Montgomery, great to have you here.
[Montgomery:] Thank you for having me.
[Cabrera:] A quick programming note. Disinformation, lies. CNN films presents: "AFTER TRUTH," a film that looks at how fake news is used as a weapon against democracy. "AFTER TRUTH," tonight at 10:00 on CNN. We'll be right back.