A woman has come forward alleging that Kristaps Porzingis, just hours after he suffered a season-ending knee injury, raped her in his Manhattan penthouse on Feb. 7, 2018.
The woman reportedly made the allegation last Thursday, telling police that she’d been negotiating a $68,000 payoff to keep the assault under wraps with Porzingis. Those negotiations obviously fell through. According to the New York Post, there’s no evidence he paid the woman any money.
Earlier this season, the New York Knicks traded Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban delivered a short statement to the New York Post, the publication that first broke the story.
“We have been instructed by federal authorities not to comment,” Cuban said.
Porzingis’ lawyer, Roland G. Riopelle, released a statement on his client’s behalf.
Were going to find out that the Knicks FO knew about the Porzingis rape accusation before the trade aren’t we?
— Knudsen Baio (@JasonMilletary) March 31, 2019
“We are aware of the complaint that was made against Mr. Porzingis on Friday and unequivocally deny the allegations,” Riopelle said. “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.”
According to reports, the woman lived in the same building as Porzingis when the alleged assault took place. The NYPD would not confirm that Porizingis is under investigation, though his lawyers were reportedly told the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit was handling the case.
NYPD probing rape claim against former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis https://t.co/39hH2WDZOd pic.twitter.com/yim0qYQQhF
— New York Post (@nypost) March 30, 2019
Porzingis hasn’t played at all this season as the Mavericks shut him down after the trade was finalized. Last year with the Knicks, before blowing his knee out, he played in 48 games and averaged 22.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. He was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
