Queer joy: New York Liberty showered with love at jubilant WNBA championship parade

Queer New Yorkers joined the thousands of people who hit the streets on Oct. 24 for a joyous ticker-tape parade to celebrate the New York Liberty’s first-ever WNBA Championship victory and the city’s first professional basketball championship in more than five decades.

The New York Liberty basked in the spotlight along the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway in front of thousands of fans just days after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA finals, delivering the city’s first professional basketball title since the Knicks won the 1973 NBA championship.

Led by forward Breanna Stewart, a homegrown New York State native from the Syracuse area who averaged more than 20 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season, the team ran roughshod through the competition in the postseason, sweeping the Atlanta Dream in two games before knocking off the Las Vegas Aces and finishing the Lynx in five games.

Another out LGBTQ star on the team, Jonquel Jones, was named WNBA Finals MVP after carrying the team to victory with 17 points in the series-clinching overtime victory in Game 5. Jones, who was drafted sixth overall in the 2016 draft, was also named the 2021 WNBA MVP.

Among other out players, Courtney Vandersloot also contributed to the team’s championship season and averaged five points per game in the playoffs.

The squad overcame adversity along the way — including during the WNBA finals when Stewart and her wife received homophobic threats — but all of that noise was drowned out during the cheerful parade, which drew a strong presence of LGBTQ sports fans who waved signs in the air and packed the sidewalk along the parade route while Liberty players partied on floats.

Elected officials, including a mix of out LGBTQ politicians and allies, were also well-represented at the celebration, which proceeded along Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall. The party continued at City Hall, where lawmakers and others heaped praise on the hometown champions.

Queens Councilmember and LGBTQIA+ Caucus co-chair Tiffany Cabán, who cheered the team throughout its playoff run, published a now-and-then post on X showing a picture of her at the team’s 1998 open practice event adjacent to a photo of city lawmakers issuing a proclamation making Oct. 20 Liberty Day in New York City.

“So this is a very, very cool moment, not just for my child self, but to see the way that women’s sports and women athletes have transcended the sport, and they’re out there being political on the front lines,” Cabán said, according to AMNY. “They’re out there being brave. They’re showing leadership. It’s a very, very cool moment.”

During the celebration, Stewart was joined by her wife and children.

“This might be Barclays Center, but this is Club Barclay tonight,” Stewart said at a Barclays Center celebration that same day. “We’re so happy to be here. We’re so happy to have brought this championship home to you guys. Being in Brooklyn celebrating with you guys is what we wanted this entire season, and you guys continue to push us, so thank you for everything.”

Below are some photos from the celebration: