Paige Bueckers Breaks Silence Following Unauthorized Photo Scandal (2024)

GettyPaige Bueckers addresses the media after an April 5 loss.

Paige Bueckers has spoken out for the first time since the unauthorized posting of photos of the UConn star hit the news on April 21.

“The devil works hard but God and the people around me work WAY harder. The outpouring of love and support from the WBB community is unreal. Love yall. Support women in sport ALWAYS,” Bueckers wrote in an April 23 X post that had 2.9 million views within 15 hours.

Bueckers’ post is vague, but many believe it was a reaction to the sharing of altered photos of her and fellow basketball icon Caitlin Clark.

Heavy was not able to confirm the authenticity of the alleged images. Posts on social media viewed by Heavy indicate the photos of the basketball stars began surfacing on X on April 21, with users claiming to have links to view the images.Posts on a subreddit dedicated to Clark and to posting photos of WNBA players were removed for violating the social media site’s rules.

A message on a subreddit dedicated to Bueckers now reads, “r/paigebueckers is banned
This subreddit was banned due to a violation of Reddit’s rules against non-consensual intimate media.”

Bueckers is a 22-year-old guard on the UConn women’s basketball team. She averaged 21.9 points per game last season for the Huskies. And she is currently projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, according to multiple outlets.

Social Media Rallied Behind Bueckers

On April 22, WNBAandwomen’s college basketball fans flooded social media with positive posts of Clark and Bueckers in an effort to make the unauthorized photos harder to find.

HBCU Go sideline reporter Courtney Tate posted, “To everyone who flooded the Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers search with their highlights this morning, thank you. To the few weirdos in this world, y’all are sick.”

One such post wasa video of Bueckers’ 2021 ESPYs speech, after she won the award for Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports.

Bueckers’ speech was praised for how she addressed racial bias in women’s sports.

“With the light that I have now, as a white woman who leads a Black-led sport and is celebrated here, I want to show a light on Black women,” Bueckers said. “They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve.

“They’ve given so much to this sport and the community and society as a whole and their value is undeniable,” Bueckers added. “In the WNBA last season, the postseason awards, 80% of the winners were Black. But they got half the amount of coverage as the white athletes.

“I think its time for change, sports media holds the key to storylines. Sports media and sponsors tell us who is valuable. And you have told the world that I matter today.”

Angel Reese Came to Paige Bueckers’ & Caitlin Clark’s Defense

Chicago Sky rookie and former LSU standout Angel Reese appeared to defend her peers via X on April 22.

“protect young women in sports!!!” Reese wrote in a post that racked up 7.3 million views.

Reese then retweeted anotherX user who wrote, “We want all women to feel safe, loved, & respected. But y’all really gotta start listening when black women say ‘HEY THIS IS HAPPENING…’ Cuz that girl JUST sat her behind up there & told yall she was being sexualized.”

This post alludes to an April 2 quote from the LSU superstar. After her last college game, Reese said, “I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, so many things and I’ve stood strong. Every single time. I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them.”

Now Reese and the rest of college basketball are working to ensure the same doesn’t happen to Bueckers and Clark.