“I hope someone shoots your wife dead, f**k you d*s, I hope you both die,” the email said.
It was sent to Marta Xargay Casademont, wife of Breanna Stewart, a two-time MVP on the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) New York Liberty team. The couple are just one of many league-related individuals to receive an increasing number of hateful messages this season.
The same-sex couple reported the email to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), concerned about their safety and that of their two children, aged 3 and 11 months. WNBA security said the email was sent from an internet address associated with other racist, hateful messages, some containing death and bomb threats, The New York Post reported. The NYPD’s hate crimes task force is now investigating.
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Casademont — a three-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time national champion at the University of Connecticut — became aware of the email after Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, a series where her team is opposing the Minnesota Lynx.
The league championship has left millions of eyes on her and her teammates, increasing pressure both on and off the court. In Game 1, Stewart missed a late-game free throw and misfired on a layup that led to her team’s loss, though they won Game 2. The next game happens on Wednesday evening.
“Myself and my family, we’re definitely doing OK. We’re taking the proper precautions,” Stewart told reporters Tuesday. “It is terrifying. And to know that people can have such direct access…. There’s another level of invasion happening there. [I want to] make sure everyone knows that it’s unacceptable to bring [those comments] to our sport and really into this entire world.”
WNBA players have experienced an increase in racist, misogynistic, anti-gay hate messages as their sport has become more popular, ESPN reported. Players Angel Reese and DiJonai Carrington also received threatening messages this season.
“My girlfriend has been getting death threats, followed, called all type of sh*t,” Carrington’s girlfriend, Indiana player NaLyssa Smith, wrote on X. The abuse also arrives via numerous social media commenters.
Stewart rhetorically asked reporters, “Why is this happening? Because we are the most inclusive league in all of professional sports and I can say that with confidence. But there’s no place for hate.”
A WNBA spokesperson denounced the email and said it’s working with security teams and law enforcement on appropriate security measures. The league has kept players off commercial airline flights, hired extra security staff for traveling players, and increased security for arenas.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is meeting with the players’ union, players and teams during the offseason to strategize how to counter the increase in hateful messages against players. The league is also considering offering additional technical and mental health support to keep players safe and healthy.
“We’re taking the proper precautions,” Stewart said. “I think that threats continued to build after Game 1, which we love that people are engaged in our sport, but not to the point where there’s threats or harassment or homophobic comments being made. So we’re just continuing to let the league know [and] they’re handling it.”
Casademont and Stewart got engaged in 2020 and married in July 2021. Casademont won a silver medal with the Spanish national team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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