Breanna Stewart has never been one to shy away from using her platform. On Sunday, during player introductions at Unrivaled - the 3x3 women’s league she co-founded - Stewart held up a sign that read “Abolish ICE,” delivering a clear and pointed message just one day after a protester was fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
“When human lives are at stake, it's bigger than anything else,” Stewart said in her postgame press conference. “To have that simple message before the game was important to me. It was just a perfect time.”
For Stewart, this wasn’t about making headlines - it was about standing firm in her values. The former UConn star and two-time WNBA MVP has long been vocal on issues of social justice, and Sunday was no different. She spoke with conviction, calling out the current climate of fear and division.
“We're so fueled by hate right now instead of love,” she said. “So I wanted to have a simple message of 'Abolish ICE,' which means having policies to uplift families and communities instead of fueling fear and violence.”
The timing of Stewart’s message was no accident. The day before, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed by border patrol agents.
He was the second person killed by ICE in Minneapolis in recent weeks - Renee Good died on January 7 after being shot while driving away from an agent. These incidents have sparked outrage and renewed calls for immigration reform.
Before tipoff at Saturday’s Unrivaled games, a moment of silence was held. “To take a moment to reflect on the recent tragic events in Minnesota,” the arena announcer said. “Our thoughts and support are with everyone affected, and we send our deepest sympathies to those who have lost a loved one.”
Stewart’s actions were part of a broader wave of response from the women’s basketball community. Her Unrivaled co-founder and fellow UConn alum Napheesa Collier, currently with the Minnesota Lynx, has also voiced support for protestors in Minneapolis.
And Paige Bueckers, another UConn standout and Minnesota native, pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations to the Hopkins Strong Relief Fund - an initiative focused on food security in her hometown community. Bueckers had recently won a $50,000 prize in Unrivaled’s free-throw challenge and chose to pay it forward.
For Stewart, the message is clear: this is about more than basketball. It’s about stepping up when it matters most.
“Doing whatever you can to help your community is important,” she said. “Obviously, Minnesota is the place that everyone's seeing in crisis, but it's happening in many more cities than just one. Knowing the right people to reach out to - your local council person, your mayor, your governor - and really advocating to change the policies and advocating for reform, knowing that it's not going to happen overnight.”
Then she asked the question that’s on many minds: “But how many times do we have to see it happen over and over and over again?”
Stewart and her peers aren’t just raising awareness - they’re pushing for action. And in a league where players have consistently led the way on social issues, that leadership continues to be as vital as ever.