A lawyer for Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis has issued a statement regarding reported rape allegations from Porzingis' time with the Knicks.
On Saturday, the New York Post published a report detailing a New York Police Department investigation into a woman's complaint that she was raped by Porzingis in 2018. Porzingis' attorney, Roland G. Riopelle, told ESPN that he and his client "unequivocally deny the allegations."
The full statement:
We are aware of the complaint that was made against Mr. Porzingis on Friday and unequivocally deny the allegations. 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.
Michele Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, released a statement on Sunday offering support for Porzingis.
NBPA exec. director Michele Roberts on Kristaps Porzingis, who's been accused of sexual assault. His lawyer denies it.
"We have been aware of these allegations for some time, have evaluated the accuser's claims and, based on what is presently before us, stand with Kristaps."
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) March 31, 2019
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Mavericks were aware of the investigation into Porzingis' behavior prior to trading for him ahead of this season's deadline.
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
According to a Dallas Morning News report, however, the Knicks never used the word "rape" while finalizing a Porzingis trade with the Mavericks.
Two league sources on Sunday strongly contradicted Saturday's report by ESPN that the Knicks informed the Mavericks of a pending rape allegation against Kristaps Porzingis during the Jan. 31 call with NBA officials to finalize Porzingis' trade to Dallas.
"The word that was used was 'extortion,'" one of the sources told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday.
"The word 'rape' was never used, only 'extortion,'" the second source told The News.
In February, the Mavericks traded DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and two first-round picks in exchange for Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke.
Porzingis is now healthy, having recovered from the ACL tear he suffered last season, but has not returned to game action as he continues to rehab.
