In the latest of a worrying trend targeting professional athletes, the Los Angeles-area home of WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and her husband, former NFL player Hroniss Grasu, has been burgled. The incident occurred on Monday evening while the couple were not at the property.
Details of the Los Angeles Burglary
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, who spoke to TMZ, two suspects wearing ski masks smashed a rear window of the property with an unknown tool around 8pm on Monday. The intruders proceeded to ransack the residence and steal property. Reports from NBC LA indicate that among the items taken were several high-value handbags, with the total haul estimated to be worth more than $60,000.
Ionescu, the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft and a champion with the New York Liberty, and Grasu, a former NFL centre, are both California natives of Romanian descent. The LAPD confirmed that, as in other recent cases involving athletes, neither individual was home at the time of the break-in.
A Disturbing Pattern of Crimes Against Athletes
This burglary is far from an isolated event. It came just one day after Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had his Nashville-area home invaded while he was playing an away game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara.
The Titans organisation stated that team security was working with the Metro Nashville Police Department to recover the stolen items. Police reported that no fewer than six suspects were seen entering Simmons's home after smashing a window. Simmons later shared security footage of the incident online, expressing his fury and concern, asking: "What if any of my family members was in my house?"
This pattern extends across multiple sports leagues in recent years:
- Shedeur Sanders's house was broken into during his NFL debut for the Cleveland Browns last month.
- Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were targeted during a game in 2023.
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's Ohio home was invaded while he played in Texas last season.
- NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, and Karl-Anthony Towns have all been victims.
- New York Knicks player Josh Hart had $185,000 in watches and jewellery stolen from a SoHo hotel earlier this year.
Security Concerns and Ongoing Investigations
The repeated targeting of athletes' empty homes during games or public appearances points to a coordinated criminal strategy. These incidents raise significant questions about the personal security of high-profile sports figures and the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the perpetrators.
Investigations by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Metro Nashville Police Department are ongoing. No arrests have been publicly announced in either the Ionescu-Grasu or the Simmons burglaries at this time. The sports community is left grappling with a clear vulnerability, as criminals continue to exploit the predictable absences of these well-known individuals.
