A woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax was also allegedly raped by former NBA star Corey Maggette, according to a report.
On Friday, Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer for Meredith Watson, said her client had been raped by an unnamed Duke University basketball player.
According to The New York Times, one of Watson's childhood friends indicated Maggette was the unidentified player, as did Facebook messages Watson wrote to another friend.
Maggette attended Duke in the 1998-99 season, before being selected by the Orlando Magic with the 13th overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft.
"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 was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
"I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge."
The report added that Watson reported the incident to a dean at the university, who subsequently "discouraged her from pursuing the claim further."
After being drafted by the Orlando Magic, Maggette went on to spend 14 seasons in the NBA, playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats and the Detroit Pistons.
Following his retirement, the Illinois native began a career as a television analyst for Fox Sports.
The New York Times reported that Fox was looking into the allegations against their employee.
In his solitary season at Duke, Maggette helped the Blue Devils to reach the national championship game, where they lost to UConn.
On Saturday, the university confirmed it had opened an investigation into the sexual assault allegations against one of its former players.
"Duke first learned of the allegations involving a student-athlete last night when they were reported by the media," the statement said.
"Coach Krzyzewski confirms that he had no knowledge of the alleged conduct from 1999. The university is looking into the matter and will have no further comment at this time."
According to her lawyer's statement, Watson also told Fairfax, who at the time was a friend of hers, about the alleged rape.
Last week, Watson accused Fairfax of sexually assaulting her in 2000, when they were both students at Duke.
The letter sent by Watson's lawyer said that Watson hoped that Fairfax, a Democrat, would resign from his position as lieutenant governor.
"Ms. Watson shared her account of the rape with friends in a series of emails and Facebook messages that are now in our possession," the letter read.
"Additionally, we have statements from former classmates corroborating that Ms. Watson immediately told friends that Mr. Fairfax had raped her."
Watson was the second woman in a week to accuse Fairfax of rape, after Dr. Vanessa Tyson accused him of forcing her to perform oral sex in 2004.
The 39-year-old has denied both allegations, dismissing them as "false" and demanding a full investigation into the accusations.
"I deny this latest unsubstantiated allegation. It is demonstrably false. I have never forced myself on anyone ever," he said Friday. "I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations."
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Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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