A Los Angeles-area house belonging to New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and her husband, former NFL player Hroniss Grasu, was burglarized on Monday, December 15, with the suspects allegedly stealing $60,000 worth of handbags, NBC4 Los Angeles reported.
Ionescu, 28, and Grasu, 34, were not home at the time of the robbery.
The Los Angeles Police Department told NBC4 that the two suspects, who wore ski masks, entered by breaking the glass sliding window at the rear of the residence, which tripped an alarm.
Police are still reviewing security camera video and have made no arrests as of Tuesday afternoon, December 16.
Ionescu plays her regular season basketball in Brooklyn, but she is originally from the west coast. She was raised in the San Francisco area, while Grasu grew up in Los Angeles. They were both standout athletes at the University of Oregon, though their college careers did not overlap.
Ionescu and Grasu started dating in 2021 and got married in 2024 at a ceremony that included former NBA stars Pau Gasol and Steve Nash, Vanessa Bryant and, appropriately, the Oregon Duck.
“March 10, 2024🤍,” Ionescu wrote via Instagram after the wedding alongside a carousel of photos. “The day I got to marry my best friend, my other half. The best day of my life. I love you, always and forever ❤️”
Ionescu is the latest professional athlete to have her home burglarized over the past year-plus. Just one night before, Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons’ home was robbed while he was on the road to face the San Francisco 49ers. In November, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ home was robbed while he was making his NFL debut.
Last year, a string of robberies plagued NFL players, with the suspects often choosing to act while the players were at the stadium on game day. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Joe Burrow were all targeted, causing former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III to call on the league to do more to protect players’ homes.
“I just think that, collectively, the NFL has to do something to protect the players’ homes while they’re not there,” Griffin III, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly last December. “The NFL has the power to do it. Yeah, it might cost them some money, but you gotta protect these players and their families when they’re not home.”
Aaron Rodgers, then of the New York Jets, told reporters last season that he hired full-time security at his home and that personal safety is never too far from his mind.
“It’s something that we all think about from time to time,” he said. “You’re kind of exposed in that way. It seems like there’s a professional aspect to this where [the thieves] don’t care if there’s cameras on or an alarm set. They’re gonna get in and get out quickly.”
The disturbing trend extended to the NBA as well, with players Bobby Portis, Mike Conley Jr. and Luka Dončić all falling victim. Ionescu is believed to be the first WNBA player whose home has been robbed in that timeframe.
Ionescu was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft and has played her entire six-year career with the Liberty, helping to lead the franchise to its first championship in 2024.
