Porzingis is denying the allegation that he raped a woman in his N.Y. penthouse last FebruaryNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Mavericks F KRISTAPS PORZINGIS "allegedly raped a neighbor he had invited to his luxury Manhattan penthouse" on Feb. 7, 2018, just "hours after suffering a devastating knee injury at Madison Square Garden" while playing with his former team, the Knicks. The woman making the claim reported the attack to police on Thursday, over a year after the fact, and has "admitted to cops that she discussed getting $68,000 in hush money" from Porzingis, who is "denying the allegation." Porzingis' lawyer said the FBI is investigating the accuser’s "extortionate demands" (NYPOST.com, 3/30).
IMPACT PLAYERS: Pirates LF COREY DICKERSON is launching an initiative called "Assists for Autism." During April, which is Autism Awareness Month, Dickerson "will donate $100 for every outfield assist in the majors to Autism Speaks." For the remainder of the regular season, Dickerson "will donate $1,000 for every assist by a Pirates outfielder" (TRIBLIVE.com, 3/30).
NAMES: COLIN KAEPERNICK, Panthers S ERIC REID, Broncos LB VON MILLER, Saints RB ALVIN KAMARA and Giants RB SAQUON BARKLEY yesterday played in a celebrity touch football game in Atlanta hosted by rapper QUAVO. Falcons WR JULIO JONES coached one of the teams (AJC.com, 3/31)....GREG NORMAN “pulled his name” from the Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the “aftermath of the arrest of the academy’s managing partner on charges of embezzling” more than $2M on another project (MYRTLEBEACHONLINE.com, 3/28)....New Nebraska men’s basketball coach FRED HOIBERG’s contract is for seven years and $25M, making it the “biggest contract in NU basketball history.” Hoiberg’s annual salary of $3.57M is “higher than all but 10 coaches nationally” (OMAHA.com, 3/30)....Former NASCAR driver JOHN ANDRETTI “tweeted Friday that his long fight with cancer is on again” (INDYSTAR.com, 3/30)....After last week’s “cancer screening,” Pro Football HOFer MICHAEL IRVIN announced he has “been cleared” (DALLASNEWS.com, 3/31)....Colts QB ANDREW LUCK married longtime girlfriend and former Stanford gymnast NICOLE PECHANEC in Prague over the weekend (INDYSTAR.com, 3/31).
