"No place for homophobic racism" - Breanna Stewart shares terrifying reality of death threats against her & wife Marta Xargay

WNBA star Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty are currently engaged in a highly entertaining WNBA Finals series against the Minnesota Lynx. With the series tied at 1-1 ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday, fans and media members should be discussing the pivotal Game 3 scheduled for tomorrow.

Instead, during an NBA Today appearance, Breanna Stewart spoke with Malika Andrews about an email sent to her wife, Marta Xargay.

"It came after the Game 1 loss, and, you know, sometimes people are taking things a little bit too far and too out of context. And Marta had gotten homophobic death threats.

"A few other things have happened, but just making sure that we're doing as much as possible to continue to make sure that our team and the league is aware of the situation and continue to keep everybody safe."

With just over 24 hours to go until tip-off for Wednesday’s game, Stewart should be able to focus on the task at hand: Winning a WNBA title. Instead, on Thursday, after Game 1, Stewart’s wife was at one of the NYPD’s stations in Brooklyn, making authorities aware of the disturbing death threats sent to her.

In the email, the anonymous individual wrote to Xargay, who is a former basketball player herself, that she hopes somebody shoots the New York Liberty star dead. According to a memo sent by NBA security, which was relayed by the New York Post, the email was sent from an address that had previously sent death threats to other individuals.

Breanna Stewart opens up on the hate WNBA players have dealt with this season

While the email sent to Breanna Stewart’s wife has been going viral as the WNBA community ralies around the Liberty Star, the incident is just one of many that WNBA stars have dealt with this season.

Rookie standout Angel Reese previously explained that she dealt with hate mail and death threats of her own throughout the year, while Connecticut Sun standout DiJonai Carrington was hit with another disturbing email that included death threats and a racial slur.

Given that, Malika Andrews asked for Stewart’s perspective on the situation, seeking an explanation on how the league’s best players are able to cope with the hate they’ve received:

“Inside of this league, it's kind of like, '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, homophobic racism."

“We want to continue to make sure that not only am I using this platform to make sure that we're keeping it consistent and really putting the pressure on the league to keep us safe, but knowing this is happening not only in this league, but really around the world, and it's unacceptable.”

So far, the WNBA hasn’t released a statement on the matter.

On Wednesday, Stewart and the New York Liberty will look to lock in and build on the momentum of their Game 2 win over the Lynx, which tied the series up 1-1. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday, with Game 5 (if necessary) being scheduled for Oct. 20.