Former MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2018 in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
The woman filed a lawsuit over the incident in October, and alleged that Puig sexually assaulted her in a bathroom at the Staples Center while they were at the Lakers’ game against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 31, 2018.
Puig, who last played in 2019, called the claims “totally false.”
“I am speaking out now to defend my name against false and malicious allegations by a woman who claims I assaulted her in 2018,” Puig said in a statement. “Let me be clear and set the record straight once and for all: These allegations are totally false, the evidence proves they are false, and I look forward to all the facts and the truth coming out.”
I released a statement along with my attorneys today. I am encouraging you all to please read. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/agTMeQ3Onz
— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) April 13, 2021
Puig allegedly sexually assaulted woman in 2018
The woman, identified in the lawsuit under the alias Jane Roe, accused Puig of sexual battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and false imprisonment in the lawsuit. The incident took place just after Puig’s final season with the Dodgers wrapped up in 2018.
The woman said she was “simply heading to use the bathroom,” and didn’t go there to have sex with Puig.
But, according to the lawsuit, she was then "forced into a bathroom and Yasiel Puig grabbed at her trying to take her clothes off, touched her sexual organs during this struggle, and eventually pinned her with one arm and used his other to stroke his own penis, exposing himself, and eventually ejaculating.”
In his statement, Puig claims that the woman “propositioned” him for sex that day, and that that they had messaged repeatedly after the incident.
“The fact is that I had consensual sex with a woman I met at a Lakers game after she propositioned me,” he said in a statement. “Afterward, we talked about going out together, but she said she did not want her fiancé to find out. We messaged each other afterward and planned to get together again, but we never did. She’s now suing me based on completely made up allegations.”
Puig was set to play with the Atlanta Braves last season, but didn’t appear in a game after a positive COVID-19 test sidelined him and canceled the deal. The 30-year-old Cuban native is still a free agent.
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