According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA has closed its investigation into the Oklahoma City Thunder guard’s alleged relationship with an underage girl. And the conclusion? Well, it seems the league reportedly found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Per Wojnarowski’s X post:
“Four months after Newport Beach (Calif) police announced a probe had been ‘unable to corroborate any criminal activity’ against Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey, 21, involving online allegations of an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl, the NBA has closed its own investigation into matter after coming to a similar conclusion.”
ESPN Sources: Four months after Newport Beach (Calif) police announced a probe had been “unable to corroborate any criminal activity” against Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey, 21, involving online allegations of an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl, the NBA has closed… pic.twitter.com/IgMRt0cmtb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 23, 2024
The accusations surfaced online last year after Giddey was photographed with an alleged minor. The picture was reportedly captioned, “Just fucked Josh Giddey.” Although the person behind the caption was not identified, an anonymous social media user claimed the girl in the photo was a high school junior at the time. It’s unclear when the picture was taken.
The Newport Beach Police Department launched an investigation in late 2023, but declined to pursue any criminal charges against the Australian-born athlete, as they were “unable to corroborate any criminal activity.”
Despite the criminal investigation, the NBA allowed Giddey to play during the 2023-2024 season. League commissioner Adam Silver explained the decision to NBA Today, saying he couldn’t recall an instance in which an athlete was suspended over an allegation.
“I’m not going to say never, but I think this is the path we’ve consistently followed in the past,” Silver said, adding the NBA would launch its own investigation after the NBPD closed theirs. “In this case, so we have an allegation and then you have a police investigation and then a parallel league investigation. I also add that, where there is a criminal investigation, we take a back seat… that impacts how the players and players association can work with us because of course the player needs to protect his rights.”
This article was originally published on Complex.com.
