In a stunning report by The New York Post, former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis is under investigation for allegedly raping a woman in his New York City apartment. The alleged attack went down the same night Porzingis tore his ACL in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks back on February 7, 2018.
The young woman lived in the same Midtown West building as Porzingis did while he was employed by the New York Knicks. The woman only came forward this week, but in the NY Post’s report, her allegations are described as “credible”.
She willingly went to Porzingis’ apartment after he sent her a text message that night. Once inside, she claims he punched her while raping her. TMZ revealed other details that include Porzingis allegedly calling her his “slave” and spitting on her.
The two allegedly spoke about a hush money payment of $68,000 for her to stay silent. According to documents obtained by ESPN, the woman had been in contact with the New York Knicks’ legal department about the payment. The team then referred her to Porzingis’ personal legal team. No money was allegedly ever exchanged and that is why she came forward a year after the attack.
The text messages obtained by ESPN allegedly reveal that the woman wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with the baller. A source revealed to The Daily Mail that the pair continued an intimate relationship, casting doubts on her version of events. The source went on to say, “It’s a ridiculous accusation without any merit.”
Porzingis’ attorney, Roland G. Riopelle. claims the allegations are “completely meritless” and says his client will fully cooperate with the investigation. The National Basketball Player’s Association says they are aware of the allegation and stands with the Mavs’ player.
The trade was stunning at the time, but now it just seems almost unbelievable that the Mavs knew about the serious allegations being investigated and still decided to trade for Porzingis.
For a team like the Dallas Mavericks who has a very bad record of handling sexual harassment in the workplace, they probably should have let this play out before moving forward. The work environment in the organization was once described as comparable to the movie “Animal House”.
Team owner Marc Cuban has declined commenting about the situation, rightfully deferring to the police or the NBA. He did tell the media, “Some people need to do their homework and use some common sense. A little bit of common sense is so enlightening.”
Porzingis is still sidelined from that ACL injury and has yet to play in a game this season.
