Kristaps Porzingis is under investigation after a woman alleges that the star basketball player raped her on the same night he tore his ACL.
The NYPD is currently investigating former New York Knicks superstar Kristaps Porzingis for rape after a woman has come forward with allegations according to Tina Moore of the New York Post.
“Hours after suffering a devastating knee injury at Madison Square Garden last year, former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis came home and allegedly raped a neighbor he’d invited to his luxe Manhattan penthouse, the woman told police, according to law enforcement sources,” Moore writes.
“The woman made her stunning allegation against the 23-year-old player on Thursday afternoon — and investigators consider her credible, one high-ranking NYPD source told The Post.”
The woman is alleging that the event took place on Feb. 7, 2018, the same night that Porzingis tore his ACL. The woman is also alleging that Porzingis agreed to a hush-money payment that he later reneged on.
We are still waiting on the facts to emerge, but one source told Moore that Porzingis’ accuser is “believable.”
“The accuser is ‘believable,’ the source said, despite her not reporting the alleged attack until over a year later, and her admission to cops that she discussed getting $68,000 in hush money from the multi-millionaire baller,” Moore writes.
Porzingis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a move that shocked the NBA world. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has stated that federal authorities instructed the organization not to comment.
On the February trade call to finalize the Dallas-New York deal, the Knicks informed the Mavericks of the pending rape allegation against Kristaps Porzingis, league sources tell ESPN. The league office had been previously made aware of the allegations.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 31, 2019
Porzingis’ attorney Roland G. Riopelle released the following statement to ESPN.
“We are aware of the complaint that was made against Mr. Porzingis on Friday and unequivocally deny the allegations,” Riopelle states. “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.”
