CRISTIANO RONALDO's new Las Vegas lawyer said that claims that the footballer raped a woman are "complete fabrications" and the encounter was consensual. Attorney PETER CHRISTIANSEN on Wednesday issued a statement that does not deny Ronaldo and the woman reached a non-disclosure agreement in '10. The statement declared that documents cited in media reports about Ronaldo's Las Vegas hotel penthouse encounter in '09 with KATHRYN MAYORGA were altered before being "irresponsibly published" (STUFF, 10/11). ... RAFAEL NADAL helped flood victims in his native Majorca by opening up his tennis academy on the island "to the homeless and helping to clear mud and water." A video from Spanish newspaper AS showed the 32-year-old with a broom in hand "as he joined the clean-up effort." At least 10 people have died in the floods (BBC, 10/11). ... Kenyan marathon runner SAMUEL KALALEI was banned from athletics for four years after testing positive for banned blood-boosting hormone EPO. The 23-year-old tested positive at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, "where he set a personal best to finish seventh" (BBC, 10/10). ... Former League Championship side Aston Villa Chair DOUG ELLIS died, aged 94. Ellis had two spells as chair of the club, with the second running from '82-06. After selling the club to American businessman RANDY LERNER, Ellis became life president (BBC, 10/11). ... New Zealand Football President DERYCK SHAW is expected to resign on Friday. Sources said that Shaw will "fall on his sword" by the end of the week. When contacted on Thursday, Shaw said that he could not comment, which was "a change from his previous stance of saying he would not stand down" (STUFF, 10/11). ... The #MeToo movement entered the cricketing arena with Indian singer CHINMAYI SRIPAADA posting a tweet on behalf of an anonymous woman, claiming that Sri Lankan cricketer LASITH MALINGA sexually assaulted the woman during an Indian Premier League season in a Mumbai hotel (TIMES OF INDIA, 10/11).
