The woman who filed a complaint against Kristaps Porzingis last week alleging that he raped her over a year ago reportedly gave the Dallas Mavericks star the impression she wanted to have a romantic relationship with him in the days and weeks following the incident.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski obtained emails and text messages between the 29-year-old woman, Porzingis, and the Knicks’ legal staff, and they confirm she contacted the team in an attempt to “mediate in private” a payment of $68,000. The communication took place from late October through early November, and no criminal complaint had been filed against Porzingis at the time.
Wojnarowski reports that the emails and text messages “portray a woman who wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with Porzingis in the aftermath of the alleged assault in February 2018.” She also said she wanted Porzingis to honor an agreement he made to pay her $68,000, which would go toward paying college tuition for her brother. In the weeks after the alleged incident, the woman sent text messages to Porzingis asking to spend intimate time with him. She also reportedly sent explicit photos of herself and expressed frustration that Porzingis was friendly toward her when they crossed paths in their apartment complex but was not responsive via text.
ESPN also obtained a copy of a hand-written letter the woman sent Porzingis seeking payment of $68,000. She claims Porzingis signed the document, but the 23-year-old’s legal team said in a statement Sunday that they believe the signature is “a forgery.”
“When asked to produce the original contract for handwriting analysis, the complainant declined to do so,” Porzingis’ attorney Roland G. Riopelle said, adding that Porzingis has denied all of the allegations against him.
The woman, who ESPN says is 29, told the Knicks in emails that she had an “extremely aggressive encounter” with Porzingis in the early hours of Feb. 7, 2018, which was the day after Porzingis suffered a torn ACL. She included a photo that she said showed she suffered hair loss and a broken nose “from when he repeatedly hit me,” and she said she had to pay about $10,000 for corrective surgery.
The alleged victim’s emails with the Knicks came after she sent text messages to Porzingis, and the Knicks eventually ended communication with her and told her Porzingis has retained private legal counsel to represent him.
While there has been some question about what the Mavericks knew when they acquired Porzingis in a trade with the Knicks earlier this year, the NBA Players Association is standing by Porzingis in the wake of the disturbing allegations.
