ATLANTA -- Real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener was approved Friday as the lead owner of the Atlanta Dream after pressure on former Sen. Kelly Loeffler to sell her share of the WNBA team.

The three-member investor group also features former Dream guard Renee Montgomery and Suzanne Abair, president of Gottesdiener's Northland Investment Corp. in Massachusetts.

Montgomery becomes the first former player to become both an owner and executive of a WNBA team. She sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice issues and recently announced her retirement from the league after 11 seasons.

The unanimous approval by the WNBA and NBA board of governors means co-owner Mary Brock also sold her share of the team, which will remain in Atlanta.

The sale was expected. The WNBA announced on Jan. 20 that the ownership change was close to being finalized.

Players around the league had called for Loeffler to sell her 49% stake in the Dream after she wrote a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert over the summer objecting to the league's initiatives to advocate for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.

So proud of this Queen. This is everything we are about! #Morethananathlete @morethanavote https://t.co/7xddvmG8UU

— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 26, 2021

"With the unanimous WNBA and NBA votes, today marks a new beginning for the Atlanta Dream organization and we are very pleased to welcome Larry Gottesdiener and Suzanne Abair to the WNBA," Engelbert said in a statement. "I admire their passion for women's basketball, but more importantly, have been impressed with their values. I am also thrilled that former WNBA star Renee Montgomery will be joining the ownership group as an investor and executive for the team. Renee is a trailblazer who has made a major impact both in the game and beyond."

Montgomery said her new role can set a tone.

"Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both a stake in ownership and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously," Montgomery said. "I invite you to join me as the Dream builds momentum in Atlanta!"

Montgomery is in her first season as a studio analyst on Atlanta Hawks broadcasts for Fox Sports Southeast.

Montgomery won titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017. She was an All-Star with the Connecticut Sun in 2011, when she set a career high with her average of 14.6 points per game. She was the WNBA's Sixth Woman of the Year in 2012.

Gottesdiener said he considers it "a privilege to join a team of inspiring women who strive for excellence on the court and equity off the court."