New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart says her family received homophobic death threats after the team’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. In an interview with “NBA Today,” Stewart said she’s working with the team and the league to keep her family safe.
Stewart claims that her wife, Marta Xargay Casademont, received a threatening and homophobic email after the Liberty dropped Game 1 to the Lynx. Stewart added that the WNBA has been made aware of the threat.
“It came after the Game 1 loss, and sometimes people are taking things a little bit too far and too out of context,” Stewart said. “Marta had gotten homophobic death threats. A few other things have happened. Just making sure we’re doing as much as possible to make sure our team and the league is aware of the situation and continue to keep everybody safe.”
This was far more than the typical hate an athlete receives online after a loss. Stewart said the threat was an “invasion” into her family‘s personal life.
“There’s another level of invasion happening there,” Stewart said. “[We want to make] sure that this isn’t happening only just for a scare tactic. And if it is, it still is highly inappropriate and unacceptable.”
Stewart added that it was sad to see this happen in “the most inclusive league in all of professional sports.” She remains committed to using her platform to condemn hate of all kinds.
“There’s no place for hate – homophobia or racism,” Stewart said. “We want to make sure that, not only am I using this platform to make sure that we’re keeping it consistent and putting pressure on the league to keep us safe. Knowing that this is happening not only this league, but around the world, is unacceptable.”
The topic of hateful online rhetoric has come up frequently throughout this WNBA season. Just last month, commissioner Cathy Engelbert had to walk back some of her earlier comments about hate speech directed at players on social media.
“I should have stated directly and unequivocally that hate speech is harmful,” Englebert said. “This is a teachable moment and one I embrace with humility. There is absolutely no room for racism, misogyny, homophobia and other forms of hate in the WNBA or anywhere.
“I know many of you have been dealing with it for a long time. I want us as a league to do our part to change the too often toxic and abusive nature of social media discourse.”
