Breanna Stewart’s life off the court
As an openly queer athlete, it’s important to Stewart to help LGBTQ+ youth struggling with their identity, and this Pride Month she partnered with Uninterrupted and Athlete Ally to provide a safe space for young people to ask questions.
“I think it’s really important because it’s Pride month, but it’s also important to make sure it continues beyond that month. It helps me embrace and understand who I really am and who I am. I hope that if any kids that are struggling have questions, they can come to someone like me as a person, as a player, as an athlete and I can help them as they’re trying to move forward in their life, to understand who they are and what they represent,” Stewart said.
Stewart is married to former Spanish basketball player Marta Shalgay and has two children: Ruby, who is almost 3, and Theo, who was born in October. Ruby was born the day after Stewart and Team USA won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In Paris, Stewart is looking forward to being with his family and celebrating Ruby’s birthday in Paris.
“I’m grateful because it hasn’t been a normal Olympics for a long time. I remember in Rio I competed in other events, competed in other sports and of course represented the U.S. with pride in basketball. Every Olympics is a completely different experience so I’m just soaking it all up. In Rio, like I said, it was dizzying. In Tokyo, I didn’t have any fans, I didn’t have any family, so it was hard. And now I’m hoping everyone comes out to play in front of a big crowd and I’m enjoying the moment. You don’t get these kind of things very often so you have to be really grateful because there’s nothing else like this.”
