Former NBA star Corey Maggette, who graduated from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, has been accused of rape, according to the New York Times.
Maggette denied Monday evening the allegation that he raped the woman — one of two who have accused Virginia’s lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax of raping her, the New York Times reported. The accusation stem from a childhood friend and Facebook messages exchanged between her and another friend, obtained by the New York Times.
The alleged attack reportedly happened 20 years ago when Maggette and the woman were students at Duke University. Maggette played basketball there for one season (1998-1999) before going to the NBA.
“It has only been through media accounts and a statement from [the woman]’s lawyer that I first learned or heard of anything about these sexual assault allegations,” Maggette said in a statement provided to the New York Times. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge.”
Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer for the woman who allegedly accused Maggette and Fairfax, told the New York Times in a statement Friday that her client had been raped by a Duke basketball player during her sophomore year but did not name the player. Smith also told the New York Times that her client was “discouraged” from pursuing her claim by an unspecified dean who she first reported it to.
According to a March 2017 Facebook conversation provided to the New York Times by the woman’s spokesperson, Karen Kessler, the victim didn’t initially report Fairfax for raping her because of “how the university responded when I reported Corey Maggette.”
Duke said it’s looking into the woman’s claims, but declined to share details of the investigation.
Maggette, who played 14 NBA seasons with six teams before retiring in 2013, is currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports West. A spokesperson for the sports station said in an email to the New York Times, “Fox Sports takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are looking into the matter.”
Maggette was accused in 2000 for taking roughly $2,000 worth of under-the-table payments, which were based on his performance in tournaments, from his amateur basketball coach, Myron Piggie, the Sun-Times previously reported.
