His rise has, surprisingly, also had an impact on his dating life. Studbudz has a lot of fans; At games last year, I frequently saw pink hair in the stands, as well as a promising “Here 4 the Studbudz” homemade sign at a Liberty-Lynx game. Hiedemann has signed at least one owl. “There’s been a lot of movement,” Williams says.
“Courtney don’t ask!” Hidemann interjects, laughing. “(These girls) Courtney are coming bold. They wish bad for him.
Williams smiles. She is single and having a good time. “It won’t always be like this,” she says. “As long as I’m in it, I might as well enjoy it.”
“Am I alone?” Hideman says thoughtfully. “I’m off the market.”
“So you’re not alone!” Williams says with a laugh. “If you’re out on the market, it means you’re not single. You’re in a relationship.”
“Take it the way you want to take it, world,” says Hiedeman.
“He’s in a relationship and I’m single,” says Williams. “For all the girls who want to know.”
His banter reminds me of something Whitmore observed when we talked about the rise of Studbudz. “They really are who they are,” he said. “What you see is what you get with them. When it comes to basketball, they both take it extremely seriously and you can see it in the way they play and the way they train. But you can’t live life seriously all the time. There has to be some type of comic relief. They’re real about their work; they’re real about their sense of humor; they’re real about how they live life, period.”
This era of professional women’s sports is, essentially, rooted in a fight for equality, for better treatment, better pay, better opportunities. WNBA players routinely receive death threats and racist and homophobic attacks, and are routinely expected to stand up and speak out for much more than just their jobs as athletes. The Studbudz are locked in for that very reason, but they’re also a refreshing reminder that exceptional female athletes can also be a lot of fun. Especially when they are allowed to be themselves.
“It’s the best when someone comes up to you and says, ‘Oh, you have no idea what you did for me and my relationship with my daughter,'” Hiedeman says. “It’s crazy, because you don’t understand it when we just stream. We’re just out there talking. You’re not thinking about how impactful (it) is and what you’re actually doing for people.”
Hiedeman has flourished in Seattle, where he is averaging a career-high in average in his first season as a starter. “I’m really enjoying my time here and enjoying it, enjoying my teammates,” Hideman says. “I miss my friend a little more now. That’s all.”
Williams, who will play in his third All-Star Game in Chicago this weekend, says the plan is to keep the Studbudz alive, even if they’re never on the same team again. “I want our All-Star Weekend to be like the University of Streaming,” she says. “We’re not able to stream as much as we did when we were on the same team, (but) it’s something that people look forward to every year. No matter what we’re doing in between, we know we can always turn on All-Star Weekend and people can get an inside look. So hopefully (it) will get bigger and bigger.”
