Breanna Stewart says she was sexually abused for two years during childhood

Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart wrote that she was molested from the ages of nine to 11 in an essay published at The Players’ Tribune on Monday.

Stewart didn’t identify her alleged abuser, but wrote that he was a construction worker who lived at a relative’s house, where she would frequently sleep over. Stewart said that she told her parents about the molestation at age 11, and that the alleged abuser was arrested and confessed.

In some ways, I’m still the same 11-year-old who just wanted to go to practice. I’ve never been to therapy. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to relive it. It’s something I’ve tried to tuck away as far back on the shelf as I could. But that only works to an extent.

The post is titled “Me Too.” In the wake of widespread sexual assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, there has been a social media movement for people who have experienced sexual assault or harassment to share their own stories with the hashtag, #MeToo.

I do know that I’m doing something completely outside of myself by writing this. In fact, this is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done and will ever do. But I was recently reading McKayla Maroney’s personal account of sexual abuse — one of many powerful stories the #metoo campaign has inspired — and I felt … less alone.

Stewart, a former UConn star, wrote “basketball became a sort of safe space for me,” but also that “no space felt completely safe.”

Read Stewart’s complete essay at The Players’ Tribune.

Many from the WNBA and college basketball community have voiced support for Stewart after she revealed her experiences.