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The Dallas Wings cut off a question to No. 1 overall WNBA pick Azzi Fudd, asking if she’s still in a relationship with star Paige Bueckers.
But rather than shutting down the storyline, the team’s meddling only poured gasoline on the fire on Thursday. As the day wore on, more members of the national media debated if Fudd should have answered the question—and whether the Wings overstepped their bounds by micro-managing the press.
The story started Thursday morning when Dallas officially introduced Fudd at a press conference. A reporter asked Fudd: “Paige (Bueckers) announced last year on TikTok that ya’ll were a couple. And I’m wondering if that’s still the case, and if so, have ya’ll talked to any other couples in the league about how they negotiate that dynamic as pro teammates?”
But before Fudd could respond, a team spokeswoman jumped in to swat away his query.
“I understand why you have to ask that question. But we are going to respectfully decline on commenting on a player’s personal life,” the staffer declared. “Next question…”
It was an awkward moment. On the surface, it seemed like a fair question. After all, Bueckers herself confirmed in July that she was in a relationship with her former UConn teammate. People magazine gave its readers the “inside” story of the partnership on Tuesday, writing “their relationship—on and off the court—is as sweet as it gets.”
There were media members who defended the Wings on Thursday, saying Fudd’s personal life is nobody’s business but her own. On the other hand, the 23-year-old Fudd is now a professional athlete. She could have addressed the issue herself. Or respectfully declined comment.
Either way, it appeared as if Wings had decided in advance to shut down the topic during Fudd’s rookie season. Good luck with that. Because the move by their PR team to try to render the subject off-limits only whet the media’s appetite on Thursday.
“I understand the efforts from Dallas Wings PR to mitigate a potentially uneasy line of questions/storyline. However, by not allowing Azzi to answer the question this only makes it a bigger story,” warned respected WNBA reporter Annie Costabile.
Former Sports Illustrated sports writer turned author Jeff Pearlman asked why the team, the league and reporters seem to be ignoring the “No. 1 story” coming out of Fudd joining Bueckers on the Wings.
“Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are in a long-term relationship, and nobody’s mentioning it. And the WNBA clearly has asked people not to mention it. And it’s very journalistically confusing to me,” Pearlman noted in a video on his Tik Tok account.
“Like, it is fascinating that these two people who have been dating for a long time, dating back to college, would be the starting backcourt for a team. To me, that is actually the number one piece of this story. It’s not just that they drafted Azzi Fudd, they drafted Azzi Fudd to play with her longtime partner, Paige Bueckers. I don’t even know what I’m missing here.”
Jemele Hill of The Atlantic wrote flatly on X/Twitter: “They should have let her answer the question.”
The Wings did not respond to a request for comment from Front Office Sports.
