The NYPD is reportedly investigating a claim by a woman who says former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis raped her merely hours after he suffered his torn ACL against the Bucks back on Feb. 7, 2018.
The allegations, which cops say are "credible" according to The Post, detail Porzingis inviting the woman back to his luxury apartment at the Sky building in Midtown West Manhattan, which she agreed to. When they entered the apartment, the woman claims Porzingis held her down and raped her.
It was discussed that Porzingis was going to offer $68,000 to pay for the woman's brother's college tuition to keep her quiet. However, that fell through. The woman admitted that she kept quiet this long because of the money Porzingis had promised.
In an official statement obtained by ESPN's Ian Begley, Porzingis' attorney Ronald G. Riopelle denied the allegations.
"We are aware of the complaint that was made against Mr. Porzingis on Friday and unequivocally deny the allegations," the statement read. "We made a formal referral to federal law enforcement on December 20, 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."
Being that Porzingis is no longer on the Knicks after the trade before the NBA trade deadline back on Jan. 31, a Knicks spokesperson said, "This is Kristaps' personal matter and not related to the Knicks."
Now with the Mavericks, team owner Mark Cuban says the team is aware of the accusations.
"We have been instructed by federal authorities not to comment," Cuban emailed The Post.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Knicks informed the Mavericks of the pending allegation against Porzingis during their trade call to finalize the deal which sent Porzingis to Dallas.
After suffering his season-ending injury last year, Porzingis' rehab documentary revealed that his two brothers and physiotherapist, Manolo Valdivieso, took a shot of tequila to "a new beginning" with the 23-year-old Latvian.
"I think that night we got back home, we made four shots," Janis Porzingis, his agent, said.
"I just said: 'To a new beginning.' We drink the shot and started the next day as a new beginning. That's what we did."
Porzingis, along with Janis, had a meeting with the Knicks back in January where they requested the team trade him before the deadline. Team president Steve Mills said Porzingis wasn't happy about where the organization was headed, which was his motive to wanting a fresh start. Now with Dallas, Porzingis seems to be enjoying his new home with his idol Dirk Nowitzki and rookie phenom Luka Doncic, a player he knows very well, on the roster.
Porzingis has yet to return to regular season games since his injury, but after being seen practicing in Dallas, he said he feels ready. The Mavericks, though, made sure to note from the beginnin that he wouldn't come back this season.