"The Liberty opened its 30th season with a commanding 106-75 win over the Connecticut Sun. And the team's beloved mascot, Ellie the Elephant, paid tribute to Whitney Houston during a halftime show that included a medley of song, dance and and other hijinx that the elephant has gone viral for."
"In 2019, Brooklyn Nets majority owners Clara Wu Tsai and her husband Joe Tsai purchased the WNBA's Liberty from the Madison Square Garden Company. According to Liberty Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson, the team began brainstorming on a new mascot that same year. Those plans were delayed in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. But the idea of an elephant, inspired in part by an 1800s P.T. Barnum stunt in which he used elephants to illustrate the strength of the Brooklyn Bridge, endured."
"There were other symbolic meanings to the mascot as well: "Ellie" sounds like Ellis Island, right next to the Statue of Liberty. And elephant herds are female-led societies that represent strength and intelligence. Ellie the Elephant made her debut in 2021. The performer is anonymous, but Stephenson insists that it has been the same person since the mascot was introduced five years ago. The performer is a Brooklyn native."
""We have a team that's committed to the character and the performer and making sure that there's some consistency there," the executive says."
The New York Liberty opened its 30th season with a 106-75 win over the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center. During halftime, Ellie the Elephant delivered a Whitney Houston tribute featuring a medley of songs, dance, and playful antics that drew major attention. Ellie’s creative development began in 2019 after the Liberty was purchased by Clara Wu Tsai and Joe Tsai, with plans delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The mascot idea drew inspiration from an 1800s P.T. Barnum elephant stunt tied to the Brooklyn Bridge, and from meanings linked to Ellis Island and female-led elephant herds symbolizing strength and intelligence. Ellie debuted in 2021, with the same Brooklyn native performer maintaining consistency.
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