The New York Liberty have announced their 2024 schedule. Play kicks off on May 14 and the first home game at Barclays Center is on May 18. For the announcement, the Liberty teamed up with “Hot Ones,” a popular YouTube interview show, which put Breanna Stewart through their full gauntlet of hot sauces with each representing a different WNBA team.
Stewart, the first Liberty player to earn MVP honors while with the Liberty, has continued to be a presence in New York City since the WNBA season wrapped after the team’s first trip to the WNBA Finals since 2002. She has been an integral part of the Liberty’s Season of Giving, a series of events that showcased the team’s deep commitment to underserved communities throughout the five boroughs.
Johnna Hayward, the Liberty’s head of strategy and partnership marketing, and Allie Moogan, social responsibility coordinator, worked closely to identify local non-profit organizations throughout NYC and present those opportunities to the team’s corporate partners. The Season of Giving grew from seven sponsors in 2022 to 11 this year.
“Especially in New York City, there’s a significant number of vulnerable community members, so we are utilizing our corporate partnerships and their resources to further what we’re doing in the community,” said Hayward. “With the New York Liberty, we’re trying to align our values and our players’ values intentionally with those of our communities,” said Moogan. “We’re able to genuinely show up in a multitude of ways.”
The campaign has four pillars: basketball, embracing women, social justice/unity, and LGBTQ pride. Stewart volunteered at The Bowery Mission’s annual holiday coat drive, for which Snipes donated 300 coats for New Yorkers in need. She was also part of Ticketmaster hosting a suite at a Brooklyn Nets game for a group of students from the Sadie Nash Leadership Project. Stewart surprised the young women with Puma Stewie 2 shoes.
Among other community events were a CarMax-sponsored basketball clinic for kids, and a lunch and professional day for women at Bottomless Closet sponsored by M.M.LaFleur which included Liberty CEO Keia Clarke leading panel discussion. Consumer electronics company Withings also donated 15 health monitoring products for SAGE, an organization for LGBTQ+ elders.
“[I’m] excited to see all the pieces come together and hone in on the authenticity behind what we’re doing, especially when we have Liberty players dedicating their time to some of these events,” said Hayward.