Breanna Stewart Reveals She Was Molested As Child In Powerful Essay

Breanna Stewart suffered too.

The WNBA and USA basketball superstar revealed Monday in The Players’ Tribune one of her family members molested her for two years when she was a child. Stewart told her heartbreaking story as part of the #MeToo campaign, in which victims of sexual assault publicly share their experiences.

“Every time I tell someone, I feel a little more unburdened,” Stewart wrote. “I wish it was as simple as saying that it’s just something that happened to me. Part of it is just that simple — it literally is something that happened. But I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know why this happens. Or why sexual abuse keeps happening.

“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 (former Olympic gymnast) McKayla Maroney’s personal account of sexual abuse — one of many powerful stories the #metoo campaign has inspired — and I felt … less alone.”

While Stewart continues to heal from the sexual abuse she suffered, she, like many others, hopes sharing her story with the public might help “save someone’s life,” as her father says.

Click to read Stewart’s Players’ Tribune essay >>

Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images