Zujkowski Pleads Fifth On Avery Romance
Cites lawyer's advice invoking constitutional right; co-captain Avery already confirmed on-again, off-again status, authorized story
Third refusal this month, according to two committee members
Attorney silent on Line 2 status
By Anita Bath·Staff Reporter
Zujkowski and Avery share the Line 1 baseline Thursday. Avery, who already confirmed the relationship on the record, answers again between points; Zujkowski returns serve instead.
“Dave and I have been on and off for a while now. I don't know why he's making it a whole legal thing. I already told you guys it's fine.”
ROWAYTON, Conn., Sept. 12 —Dave Zujkowski, who plays Line 1 alongside Rowayton E co-captain Kyle Avery, declined Thursday to say whether the two are romantically involved, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on the advice of counsel — a question Mr. Avery had already settled the day before by confirming to this paper that the two have been on again, off again, and personally clearing the story for print.
Mr. Avery, who has been playing well lately and captains the E team on Sundays, said he saw no reason to make a production of it. "Dave and I have been on and off for a while now," he said. "I don't know why he's making it a whole legal thing. I already told you guys it's fine." He asked, unprompted, whether the photograph running with the story would be a flattering one of him.
Mr. Zujkowski's response arrived not from him but from an attorney retained for the inquiry, who wrote in a two-line email that his client would decline to answer "on the advice of counsel and pursuant to his rights under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution." The letter did not specify what, if anything, Mr. Zujkowski believed he might incriminate himself in.
It was the third matter this month on which Mr. Zujkowski has declined comment on the same attorney's advice, according to two members of the paddle committee who compared notes Tuesday evening in the hut; the previous two concerned a missing squeegee and a disputed line call on Court Four.
A member of the paddle committee, granted anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the hut's occupancy log, said the committee had briefly considered whether the rumor merited a formal look and concluded it did not, on the grounds that the propane heater has never once been implicated in a relationship and the committee saw no reason to start now.
Whether Line 1 may be co-captained by two men who are, on some undetermined cadence, also a couple has not reached the RPTA board, according to the league office, which said it had received no formal complaint and did not presently maintain a category for one.
The whiteboard in the hut, which tracks partner assignments across all four Saturday sides and both Sunday sides, was 34 percent covered as of Thursday morning and contained no reference to the matter in either grease pencil or marker.
Mr. Zujkowski's attorney did not respond to a follow-up question asking whether his client's position would change on Line 2, where he does not play with Mr. Avery. The email had not been returned by Thursday evening.
