According to reports, Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis is being investigated by New York police of an alleged rape charge that was reported last year.
The alleged victim claims that on February 7, 2018, the former New York Knicks star invited her to his penthouse in Manhattan just hours after he tore his ACL in a game versus the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. Reports state that the woman lived in the same building as Porzingis.
The woman officially reported the alleged assault to police officials on Thursday and according to the New York Post’s Tina Moore, investigators find the victims’ story to be credible. The accuser reportedly stated that the reason she held out on reporting this sooner was because her and 23-year-old star were in talks of him giving her $68,000 in hush money that would pay for her brother’s college tuition. Porzingis would renege on the alleged promise and it’s still unclear if there was any exchange of money.
The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was traded to Dallas from New York in January. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says that the team has been instructed not to comment on the allegation by federal authorities.
Porzingis has not yet spoken about the accusation but his attorney Roland G. Riopelle Saturday afternoon saying that they have been aware of the investigation for months.
“We are aware of the complaint that was made against Mr. Porzingis on Friday and unequivocally deny the allegations,” Riopelle said in the statement. “We made a formal referral to federal law enforcement on December 20th, 2018, based on the accuser’s extortionate demands. We also alerted the National Basketball Association months ago and they are aware of the ongoing investigation of the accuser by federal law enforcement. We cannot comment further on an ongoing federal investigation. Please refer any questions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the National Basketball Association.”
The one-time All-Star is still recovering from his injury and is expected to return to the court at full strength next season for the Mavs. He averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks for the Knicks last season in just 48 games.
