Former NBA star Corey Maggette, a graduate of Fenwick High School in Oak Park, has been accused of raping a woman, according to the New York Times.
Maggette on Monday denied the allegation that he raped the woman — one of two who have accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of raping them, the Times reported. The accusation against Maggette stems from a childhood friend of the woman and Facebook messages exchanged between the woman and another friend, which were obtained by the Times.
The alleged attack reportedly happened 20 years ago, when Maggette and the woman were students at Duke. Maggette played basketball for the Blue Devils for one season (1998-99) before leaving for 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 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, told the 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 Times her client was ‘‘discouraged’’ from pursuing her claim by an unspecified dean to whom she first reported it.
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According to a Facebook conversation in March 2017 provided to the Times by the woman’s spokesperson, 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 a basketball analyst for Fox Sports West. A spokesperson for the station said in an email to the Times: ‘‘Fox Sports takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are looking into the matter.’’
Maggette was accused in 2000 of 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.
