Man arrested for stalking and harassing UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers

The GIST: After months of harassment, a 40-year-old Oregon man was charged with stalking UConn women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers on Monday, marking yet another instance of women athletes facing unwanted and often scary attention from “fans.”

The details: In February, Robert Parmalee — a man with a long criminal history — began sending Bueckers messages and making disturbing social media posts about her. He later sent rambling emails to UConn administrators, who alerted university police.

• Parmalee was arrested on August 27th by Connecticut State Police about 35 miles from UConn’s campus, telling officers he was going to see Bueckers. Officials detained him in Hartford, CT, until charging him with felony stalking (and other misdemeanors) on Monday.

Zooming out: Bueckers isn’t just any hooper — she’s arguably the most famous current college basketball player…women’s or men’s. She’s also projected to be the 2025 WNBA Draft’s No. 1 pick, not to mention an NIL dynamo and a cultural icon.

• But Bueckers is not the only athlete dealing with unwanted attention and threats: Women in sports are distressingly vulnerable to harassment, something WNBAers like Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter have also recently faced.

• This case once again highlights the urgent need for leagues and institutions to proactively safeguard players by seeking legal consequences for perpetrators when online activity turns into IRL harassment. Again and again: Protect women athletes.