Breanna Stewart held a sign that read “Abolish ICE” on Sunday afternoon as players were introduced during the Unrivaled game between Vinyl and Mist.
Stewart, who co-founded the league and is one of the WNBA’s biggest names, made the statement a day after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents.
“Really, all day yesterday, I was just disgusted from everything that you see on Instagram and in the news,” the Liberty star told reporters on Sunday, explaining her decision. “We’re so fueled by hate right now, and instead of love, 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.”
She added, “To have that simple message before the game was important to me. And knowing that everyone here is feeling that way one way or another, it was just the perfect time.”
Other WNBA players have spoken out about the shooting, which included Lynx star, and Unrivaled co-founder, Napheesa Collier.
NBA star Tyrese Haliburton has also reacted to the violence in Minnesota in a post on social media.
Stewart said the circumstances have taken on greater personal significance since her wife, Marta Xargay, is a Spanish citizen, and they are still working on her U.S. citizenship.
“We’re working to get her citizenship, and she is a legal permanent resident and all of that,” Stewart said. “But it seems like it doesn’t matter. And I think that that’s why these policies need to be put in place, that reform needs to happen, because it doesn’t seem to be affecting the right people. It’s not helping anybody.”
Pretti had been killed by a federal agent during an immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.
Multiple videos show Pretti, who was legally armed and had a license for his weapon, recording agents with his cell phone before attempting to defend a woman being shoved by immigration officers, before he was pepper-sprayed and tackled to the ground by several agents.
Video showed an agent removing the weapon before gunfire could be heard shortly after.
