"Martin Luther Paige strikes again": Fans react as Paige Bueckers claims her 'diverse upbringing' gives license to speak on 'black women' 

Paige Bueckers is turning heads around the WNBA world, but it isn't for what she is doing on the court for the Dallas Wings. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft made waves when she spoke to Time Magazine about how she believes African American women are underrepresented in the media. She doubled down on what she said at her team's media day, causing fans to react.

Paige Bueckers enters her rookie season in the WNBA with a lot of excitement surrounding her. She was one of the best players in college basketball during her time at UConn, even though players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese garnered more national attention when she missed a full season with injury. Now that she is officially in the league, fans expect big things for the naitonal champion.

While she gets ready to navigate through her first regular season as a pro, Paige Bueckers hasn't wasted time using her platform to advocate for what she believes in. When asked about why she feels so strongly about what she told Time Magazine, Bueckers spoke about her upbringing, saying that it helped her become more aware.

She said that her stepmother, who is African American, helped her see the world differently, and that is why she is wants black women to receive the media coverage she feels they deserve. Some WNBA fans aren't so enthusiastic about Bueckers' statements, wanting her to focus on her rookie season instead of trying to enact such a big change so early in her career.

"Is this Paige’s entire personality…?" asked one fan. "She’s a professional basketball player. Sis doesn’t need to keep addressing this. It’s boring. The point has been made."

"Is this going to be the narrative for this season, can we have regular basketball questions, or anything lazy journalism," said another.

"Why don’t you build her a statue already. Paige X. Ridiculous questions lead to more ridiculous answers," another fan commented. "Stop pandering. Why don’t you cover all these black women instead of asking the white girl to talk about the black women."

"Can you guys just focus on basketball and grow the women game without being weird?" said one fan. "You can learn a thing or rwo from the NBA."

"Are y’all done asking the same old questions?" complained another. "Are y’all gonna actually uplift black women and athletes and promote them?"

"Under covered? I can list so many black athletes who get LOTS of coverage over the years. It is the WNBA that doesn’t have much coverage, but they didn’t have coverage for anybody regardless of race until CC came along," one fan explained.

As upset as fans are at Bueckers for harping on this issue so much, they are just as frustrated with the media's role. WNBA fans are slamming the media world, wondering why they keep asking Bueckers the same questions again and again instead of making a change based on her statements.

WNBA fans are curious about how the league will welcome Paige Bueckers

For the past two years, the top picks in the WNBA draft have been white women. Both Paige Bueckers and Clark entered the league surrounded by questions about how their new peers would view them as rookies. Clark had a tough time initially in her first season with the Indiana Fever, facing ridicule and hate from people all around the league.

Fans are curious as to how Bueckers will be received. While she and Clark were both top selections, Bueckers has been in the spotlight for longer than Clark. The Fever superstar broke onto the scene in Iowa in 2022, making a name for herself in the NCAA Tournament, while Bueckers has been an extremely popular player for many years.

Regardless of how the WNBA treats Paige Bueckers in her first season, she is refusing to back down from her stances. Fans might be tired of hearing her talk about the fact that African American women are undercovered by the media, but the conversation isn't going away anytime soon.

If Paige Bueckers has her way, coverage around the league could become more balanced instead of being hyper-focused on one or two stars.