A man has pleaded guilty to harassing women’s college basketball star Paige Bueckers.
Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, said on social media that he intended to marry the University of Connecticut phenom.
When he was first arrested in August, he was wearing an engagement ring and lingerie while walking on a road near Bradley International Airport, near Hartford, Connecticut.
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Paige Bueckers, #5 of the UConn Huskies, watches during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024 in Cleveland. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
He told a state trooper that he had just arrived from the Pacific Northwest and was on his way to see Bueckers at UConn, according to police reports.
The officer stopped Parmalee when he learned there was a warrant for his arrest in Josephine County, Oregon, accusing Parmalee of setting fire to a house with roommates and pets inside, police said.
Parmalee had posted photos, videos and comments about Bueckers on TikTok and other social media platforms and had sent emails to UConn officials since June with incoherent comments, including her desire to marry Bueckers, police said. Initially, the posts and emails did not warrant criminal charges, but his comments became alarming over time, according to police reports.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, #5, shoots as Syracuse guard Georgia Woolley, left, defends in the second half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 25, 2024 in Storrs, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
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He had originally faced charges of harassment, disorderly conduct and harassment, but those were replaced with a single charge of second-degree harassment, the clerk said.
Bueckers, a two-time All-American, leads the Big East with 20.6 points per game and a shooting percentage of 58.4. As a true freshman, she was named AP Player of the Year and received the Wooden and Naismith awards.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers, #5, passes the ball past Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, #22, during the first half of a college basketball game in the Sweet Sixteen round of the women’s NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, March 27. , 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL, but returned to form by being named an All-American for the second time. Her Huskies lost in the Final Four to South Carolina, who defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes to finish their undefeated season.
