Emmanuel Acho: Paige Buckers shouldn’t ‘gaslight’ media about Azzi Fudd relationship

Credit: Dallas WIngs, Speakeasy

Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd are going to be one of the stories to watch this season in the WNBA as the former Connecticut Huskies teammates are paired together with the Dallas Wings.

The unique layer to the story is that the pair are also in a relationship off the court as well as being reunited as teammates once again in the WNBA.

This has created a brand new dynamic for the players and their new team. It’s something that the media has been trying to figure out how to address respectfully and responsibly. But the situation wasn’t helped when Wings PR shut down an attempt to ask Fudd about the relationship after she was drafted.

At the team’s media day, Paige Bueckers then took it upon herself to send a message to the media that she felt it was a story that did not need addressed. And that her personal relationship with Fudd wasn’t the media’s business.

“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own. And what we choose to share is completely up to us. But I understand that as media members, you guys have a job to do, and you guys have to ask questions about the basketball aspect of it. So that’s what I will be addressing today,” Bueckers said.

That statement wasn’t quite good enough for former FS1 star Emmanuel Acho. In a clip posted on his Speakeasypodcast’s social media page, Acho said that Bueckers shouldn’t gaslight the media into not asking about her relationship with Fudd.

“She’s right in that your personal life isn’t necessarily our information in any way, shape, or form. However, where I do believe to some degree you missed the mark is one, if you’re a star and if you’re a star that is involved in anything unique you’re going to get asked about that a lot,” Acho said.

He then cited Tim Tebow’s outspokenness in his faith, Colin Kaepernick’s social justice focus, and LeBron James playing with his son Bronny with the Lakers as examples of unique things that have transcended the game and demanded questions from the media. And he put Bueckers and Fudd in the same category.