Homophobes threaten lives of WNBA star and wife
While the New York Liberty are focused on defeating the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA finals, one of its stars has come under attack from anti-gay bigots who made death threats against that player and her wife, according to the Associated Press.
The homophobic death threats targeted forward Breanna Stewart and her wife, retired Phoenix Mercury guard Marta Xargay. Stewart said they arrived in Xargay’s email inbox. “The fact it came to Marta’s email is something she (had to) see.
The level of closeness was a little bit different,” she said. “Make sure that myself and Marta are okay, but that our kids are the safest.” Stewart, the two-time MVP known to teammates and on social media as “Stewie,” told reporters Tuesday she notified her team about the emails, The Liberty then escalated it to WNBA security. “We’re taking the proper precautions,” Stewart said, noting that she felt the Liberty’s winning streak was only encouraging more threats.
New York is leading their opponents two games to one after Tuesday night’s 80-77 win in Minneapolis. “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.” Xargay filed a complaint with the New York Police Department at the advice of the team and security, said Stewart. “Being in the finals and everything like that it makes sense to file something formal,” she said.
