Although the New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart began her professional basketball career just eight years ago, she has had extensive experience playing basketball, thanks to her parents, Heather and Brian, who admitted her to the game at an early age.
In an interview with The Players Tribute back in 2017, Breanna talked about how her basketball journey started while disclosing the trauma that she experienced as a child after abuse. Meanwhile, she said,
My parents had put me in the sport just to keep me busy. I was a kid with a lot of free time and nothing to do. Eventually, nobody had to make me go. I wanted to play. Basketball became a sort of safe space for me. But no space felt completely safe.
Via The Players Tribune
Further, in the entire interview, she explained how being physically abused disturbed her entirely inside and outside, but it never stopped her from playing basketball.
Breanna Stewart explained that one day, she mustered the courage to speak up to her parents, went to their bedroom at 3 in the morning, and told them what was happening to her, saying,
Mom? Mom, I have to tell you something. She sat up and just looked at my face. I led her back to my bedroom. I laid down on my bed while she sat on its edge.I pointed to my privates, and said, “Mom, he touched me down there.” When I told her, I pulled the covers over my head. I was scared again.
Right after, her mother, Heather, woke up her dad, Brian, to let him know what their daughter had been facing at the time. They soon called the police and Breanna gave the statement in the police station against her culprit.
Her whole family gathered up for her that night, but Breanna, on the other hand, wanted to practice on her basketball skills despite the heart-rending circumstances, which surprised her parents.
I had basketball practice that night. I went to my dad and told him that I still wanted to go. He couldn’t believe it. With all I’d been through, the only thing I wanted to do was go play basketball.
Well, that passion led her to where she is today. Then and now, things have changed so much for Breanna since she is now a widely recognized WNBA Basketball player.
The Parents Of Breanna Stewart Are Proud Of Her Courage To Share Her Abuse Story After Achieving A Career Milestone!
After achieving a certain level of height, the high profile personalities often remained quiet regarding their experience of abuse, if it ever happened to them. But, in the case of Breanna Stewart, it went just the opposite.
In 2017, she openly shared her story of abuse without being unapologetic about what she went through, in which she had no fault. Brian and Heather feel so proud seeing their daughter’s fierce personality and achievements.
Talking to Syracuse, Breanna’s mom Heather said,
we’re proud of her and proud that she’s to a point where she’s able to tell her story and maybe help other kids and other people, while at the same time help herself.
Via Syracuse
The celebrity mom further stated
She’s come a long way. I think she’s doing great. But it took her 12 years to be able to do this. So we’re just really happy that she is where she is.
As her mother said, Breanna has made a big name for herself with outstanding records, such as holding the title of USA Basketball Athlete of the Year three times, the WNBA championship two times, and many others.
She has also won the Olympic gold medals three times in three different years: 2016, 2020, and 2024. She is also the gold medal winner of the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Fiba World Cups.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Breanna Stewart was born Breanna Mackenzie Baldwin in Syracuse, New York, on August 27, 1994. She is currently 30 years old.
- She was a toddler when her mother, Heather, married her father, Brian Stewart. The identity of her biological father is unknown.
- Breanna married her wife Marta Xargay in 2021. The couple now have two children: Ruby and Theo.
