On Nov. 29, police in Newport Beach, California confirmed that Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder player, was under investigation for allegedly being in a relationship with a minor.
“The Newport Beach Police Department is aware of information being circulated online involving an alleged relationship between professional basketball player Josh Giddey and a female minor,” the police department said in a statement. “The Newport Beach Police Department is actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case.”
Giddey was averaging 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists this season in the NBA when the allegations started on social media late November. An anonymous user claimed that a girl Giddey had been seen with in several photos and videos was a high school junior at the time, but the user’s account was later deleted.
In response to the posts, the NBA claimed that they were investigating the case on Nov. 24. These claims were followed shortly by the aforementioned police statements.
“Although I am not extremely aware of the case, it is probably disappointing for everyone involved,” Dora Shen (11), social media user, said. “As it stands, [Giddey] did something that is morally wrong that came up in an important stage of his career.”
Giddey, currently 21 years old, declined to comment on the allegations. “I understand the question obviously, but there’s no further comment right now,” Giddey said to reporters. “I get the question guys, I completely understand you guys want to know about it. Just for right now, I don’t have anything to say.”
Mark Daigneault, Thunder coach, also declined to comment. “Personal matter, and I have no comment on it,” Daigneault said. “And that’ll be my comment on anything related.” Giddey continues to play and has started all four games since the accusations were made.
On the legal side, Gloria Allred, an attorney who is famous for advocating for women in cases against powerful figures, confirmed that she is representing the family of the underage girl.
She did not elaborate in an email response, saying: “We have no comment.”
However, the minor and her family are allegedly refusing to cooperate with officials. Law enforcement sources told TMZ Sports that police would like to speak with the minor but “no one is talking” as of now.
“It is an odd situation since it is a public case but I think it is not definitive yet due to the lack of information we have,” Emma Kim (12), a student interested in law, said. “I hope that they are able to end the case so that justice will be served.”
