The Dallas Mavericks were aware of the rape allegation Kristaps Porzingis was facing before acquiring him in a January trade, according to a report.
News emerged on Saturday that the New York Police Department is investigating a rape allegation made by a woman against Porzingis. The woman claims the rape took place last year on Feb. 7, hours after Porzingis suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury. She only went to the police about the allegation on Thursday because she says Porzingis reneged on a hush money agreement.
Not long after the news emerged, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Knicks told the Mavericks about the rape allegation.
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
Such a detail will cause some to wonder about the Mavericks’ ethics, especially since the franchise was tied to workplace misconduct allegations last year.
Porzingis’ attorney issued a statement in which he says the Mavericks big man denies the rape allegation. The attorney called the woman’s claim an extortion effort and says they reported the case to the FBI.
Statement from Kristaps Porzingis’ attorney Roland G. Riopelle, obtained by @IanBegley: pic.twitter.com/gHVjk3RfP3
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 31, 2019
