Juju Chan, fiancée of PGA Tour golfer Sahith Theegala, has publicly contested the account of an ESPN anchor regarding an encounter at a Connecticut coffee shop. SportsCenter anchor Gary Striewski recounted the interaction during the Travelers Championship week, claiming he made an unsolicited comment to Chan while Theegala was ordering drinks.
Striewski stated he approached Chan, who has a significant social media following, and asked, "Has anyone spotted you yet?" He claimed Chan responded dismissively and that he felt it was expected for her to be recognized due to her online presence. Striewski added that he was later recognized by someone else in the same coffee shop and engaged in a pleasant conversation.
However, Chan refuted Striewski's narrative in a TikTok video, asserting that the interaction did not unfold as he described and that he was perpetuating a false story. She stated she did not recognize Striewski at the time and found his opening question to be an unusual way to initiate conversation. Chan described feeling uncomfortable with the remark and attempting to brush it off.
She further characterized Striewski's public sharing of the incident as "extremely unprofessional," particularly given his role in media. Chan expressed concern that he seemed to be encouraging negative online attention towards her.
"If he perceived our interaction that way, I'm sorry. But that's not how it went down," Chan said in her video. "I think it's extremely unprofessional given the line of work he's in. To encourage people to hate on me, that's uncool."
Sahith Theegala voiced his support for his fiancée on social media, commenting on her post. "That guy should have never put you in a position like this… I love you so much, and I'm incredibly proud of how you've handled it, my queen," he wrote. "I see how kind and caring you are to all that interact with you, and the people close to us know your real, incredible self."
Striewski later posted again, defending his decision to speak to Chan instead of Theegala, stating he felt spouses of athletes were often overlooked. He did not offer an apology, and some social media users criticized his handling of the situation, with some deeming it "more weird."