"Trump-backed buyer is trying to take Sun out of northeast" - Democrat CT senator rages at WNBA for 'forcing' Mohegan Tribe to sell $325M franchise

The sale of the Connecticut Sun has become one of the biggest storylines around the WNBA in recent months. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is now part of it, jumping to the Mohegan Tribe and the Sun's defense, while taking aim at the league.

The Mohegan Tribe, which has owned the franchise since 2003, received an offer to sell the team to a Boston-based ownership group for $325 million.

As Murphy tweeted on Friday, it also received an offer from an ownership group that would keep the Sun in Connecticut. However, it will relocate the team to Hartford.

Instead, the WNBA stepped in, indicating that they would buy the team for $250 million. It will allow the league to sell the team to whoever it chooses, likely as part of its expansion plan.

According to Murphy, a "Trump-backed buyer" is trying to take the team elsewhere.

"The Trump backed buyer is trying to take the team completely out of the northeast," Murphy tweeted. "And their bid is WORSE than Hartford's bid! They are essentially trying to use their influence with the league to steal the team from the tribe at a bargain price. It's not right.

"Eastern CT has been home to (the Sun) since 2003 when the tribe saved the team from folding. Now, it’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars and the tribe, who has been a great steward of the team, wants to sell.

Chris Murphy 🟧

@ChrisMurphyCT

So here's what's going on with the @ConnecticutSun . The corporate arm of the @WNBA wants to force the Mohegan Tribe (who owns the team) to accept a low-ball offer from a Trump-backed billionaire. It's wrong and there's a better option. A short 🧵 on the path forward.

Chris Murphy 🟧

@ChrisMurphyCT

2/ Eastern CT has been home to @ConnecticutSun since 2003 when the tribe saved the team from folding. Now, it’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars and the tribe, who has been a great steward of the team, wants to sell. Quickly, a Boston group made an offer of $325M.

Murphy also made it clear that the deal with the Boston-based ownership group has not been finalized.

"The Boston group made it seem like a done deal," Murphy tweeted. "Not true. The tribe wants to keep the team in Connecticut, and there's great news: a CT-based group wants to buy the Sun and bring them to Hartford, so they match Boston’s offer.

Bringing (the Suns) to Hartford wouldn’t just be an economic win for our capital city, but also for fans across the state who have embraced this team for decades. CT is probably the top women’s basketball market in the U.S. - we have the championships to prove it.

The senator added that its bid was "worse" that Hartford's.

Instead, the Trump backed buyer is trying to take the team completely out of the northeast," Murphy tweeted. "And their bid is WORSE than Hartford's bid! They are essentially trying to use their influence with the league to steal the team from the tribe at a bargain price. It's not right."

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Connecticut Lt. Governor joins in, wants to keep WNBA team in CT: "We love the Sun."

Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz also weighed in on the possibility of the Sun relocating against the wishes of the Mohegan Tribe.

In a statement provided to ESPN, she noted how the University of Connecticut to Connecticut Sun pipeline is something fans cherish.

With the Huskies historically dominant in the NCAA, players stay in Connecticut once they move to the WNBA is something unique to The Constitution State.

"I do believe that the best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Bysiewicz said on Friday, via ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

"We love the Huskies. We love watching the Sun. So many of our favorite players from UConn will be part of the Sun or have been part of the Sun, and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

Based on the latest reports, the situation could be headed to a standoff between the WNBA and both the Mohegan Tribe and Connecticut fans.