Former Duke Blue Devils star and ex-NBA veteran Corey Maggette has reportedly been accused of rape by a woman at the center of Duke's investigation into an alleged 1999 sexual assault.
According to a report by the New York Times, the lawyer for Meredith Watson said in a statement last week that Watson had been raped by a former Duke basketball player, but she did not identify the player. On Monday, a childhood friend of Meredith Watson's, and Facebook messages Watson exchanged with another friend, identified the player in question as Maggette.
Maggette, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons after leaving Duke, denied the allegations in a statement to The Times.
"It has only been through media accounts and a statement from Meredith Watson's lawyer that I first learned or heard of anything about these sexual assault allegations," he said. "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge."
Maggette, 39, currently works as a Fox Sports West color commentator for Los Angeles Clippers broadcasts, but he was pulled from Monday night’s Clippers-Timberwolves game after the report surfaced.
In addition to the Maggette rape allegations, Watson also claims that Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted her on Duke's campus in Durham, North Carolina, when they were both students in 2000.