Avery Bradley reportedly paid money to silence sexual assault accuser

Avery Bradley reportedly entered into a confidentiality agreement with a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her earlier this year, but the Detroit Pistons star says he was only trying to keep false allegations from going public.

TMZ Sports reports that Bradley was accused of sexually assaulting a woman on May 23 while she was intoxicated and passed out. The alleged incident took place when Bradley was with the Boston Celtics, who were in Cleveland to play the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals at the time. The woman contacted Bradley and accused him of assaulting her, and the 27-year-old’s attorney says a confidentiality agreement was reached strictly to protect Bradley’s reputation.

“Mr. Bradley absolutely denies having engaged in wrongdoing whatsoever,” Brian Wolf of Lavely & Singer told TMZ. “The confidentiality agreement specifically refutes and denies the validity of all allegations of any wrongful conduct by Mr. Bradley. The sole purpose of the agreement was to protect the reputation and privacy of Mr. Bradley and his family.”

According to TMZ, Bradley’s legal team and the woman considered resolving the matter for $400,000 at one point. It’s unclear exactly how much Bradley ended up paying, but the figure was said to be high.

With more and more women coming forward to report instances of sexual harassment and assault, Bradley is not the first professional athlete who has been accused. His attorneys say they plan to take legal action against whoever is responsible for the “wrongful disclosure” of the confidentiality agreement.

Bradley is averaging 15.7 points per game in his first season with the Pistons. He has missed time recently due to a groin injury.