WNBA star condemns ‘homophobic death threats’ sent to wife after loss

Stewart revealed that her wife, retired professional basketball player Marta Xargay Casademont, received a discriminatory email that threatened violence against Stewart and Casademont after the Liberty’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 on Thursday. The email included homophobic language and death threats, including ‘I hope someone shoots your wife dead.’

‘We love that people are engaged in our sport, but not to the point that there’s threats or harassment or homophobic comments being made,’ Stewart said on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Game 3. ‘We’re just continuing to let the league know — they’re handling it — but also just continuing to use this platform to make sure everyone knows that it’s unacceptable to bring to this sport and into the world.’

During an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Stewart said the email ‘came after the Game 1 loss’ and noted that ‘a few other things have happened.’ Stewart said that although her family is ‘definitely doing OK,’ the email sent directly to Casademont’s personal account hits too close to home.

‘I don’t look at all my (social media direct) messages, but the fact that it came directly to Marta’s email is something she couldn’t not see,’ Stewart said Tuesday. ‘The level of closeness was a little bit different and I think that we want to make sure obviously that myself and Marta are OK, but our kids are the ones who are safest.’

‘We continue to emphasize that there is absolutely no room for hateful or threatening comments made about players, teams or anyone affiliated with the WNBA,’ a league spokesperson said in a statement issued to USA TODAY Sports. ‘We’re aware of the most recent matter and are working with league and team security as well as law enforcement on appropriate security measures.”

The Liberty did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Sports.

Stewart, 30, and Casademont, 33, tied the knot in July 2021 and share two children — Ruby, 3, and Theo, who turns 1 this month. The WNBA Finals series is even at 1-1 with the series shifting to Minnesota for Game 3 Wednesday.

WNBA condemns threatening comments

As the WNBA has grown in popularity, so have security concerns.

Homophobia and racism has been an ongoing issue in the WNBA this season as a new wave of fans have flocked to the sport. Last month, the WNBA condemned all ‘racist, derogatory or threatening comments’ following an increase in incidents, including a threatening and racist email sent to the Connecticut Sun’s Dijonai Carrington.

The WNBA issued a statement last month, saying it is ‘monitoring threat-related activity’ and will work with the teams and venues ‘to take appropriate measures, to include involving law enforcement, as necessary. … While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams and anyone affiliated with the league,’ the statement added.

Stewart said the league needs to be proactive against threats, instead of reactive.

‘I think that (commissioner) Cathy (Engelbert) and the league can just continue to make sure they’re ahead of this,’ Stewart said Tuesday. ‘Everything that’s happened since Thursday everyone has walked hand in hand, step in step with what to do going forward. But if there’s a way to prevent this or just be ready for action so me and Marta aren’t like (wondering what to do), there needs to be a like a protocol or something before the season.’

This story was updated to add new information.