A 40-year-old has been arrested after making repeated threats to UConn women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers, according to ESPN. Police took an Oregon man named Robert Cole Parmalee into custody on Friday, and he’s been charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking, and harassment after a series of bizarre and alarming messages about Bueckers.
UConn first became aware of a potential stalker situation when it received emails from the man in June that detailed his desire to marry someone on the basketball team. His social media was full of references to Bueckers, and he reportedly made up a fake wedding invitation and posted multiple pictures of himself with an engagement ring.
The story gets more frightening from there. Here’s what ESPN reported about the threats he made to Bueckers:
Parmalee also made social media posts that a UConn Police officer depicted as threatening to Bueckers’ friends and family. One post on his TikTok account read: “And if I cannot live with a woman of my choosing, [Bueckers], then I will choose to die, and I will choose to take all of you that [op]pose me, oppose us, to hell, and return, king…”
He was also reportedly direct messaging Bueckers on Instagram until she told authorities about his behavior. Parmlee was also arrested in Connecticut in August when he was found trespassing on a highway near the airport. He reported told the cops he was going to see Bueckers.
Women’s basketball stars have been seeing increasing harassment as the sport has gotten more popular. Many WNBA players recently called out commissioner Cathy Engelbert for failing to properly condemn online racism directed at athletes.
Read Katie Heindl on the increasing threats and violence directed at women in sports.
