Yasiel Puig is not only denying he sexually assaulted a stranger inside a bathroom at a Lakers game, but he is fighting back by suing the woman for making the claims.
According to court documents obtained by Radar Online — Puig says the woman chose to make the sexual assault allegations against him after he refused to pay her and now he is suing her for $10 million in damages.
Puig, who is currently playing in the Mexican League, said it was the woman who approached him and that they had consensual sex in a private bathroom at Staples Center. His counterclaim accuses the woman of defamation and slander.
He released a statement reading, “Let me be clear and set the record straight once and for all: these allegations are totally false. The evidence proves they are false, and I look forward to all the facts and the truth coming out.”
“The fact is that I had consensual sex with a woman I met at a Lakers game after she propositioned me,” he ended.
“Defendant has not acted with malice, reckless indifference or fraud toward Plaintiff,” the court papers said.
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“JANE ROE initiated communications with PUIG, both electronically and in person. She approached him, she messaged him on Instagram, sent him photos of herself, and sent him her phone number,” Puig’s attorney said in the countersuit.
“Although she now claims she was sexually assaulted, she did not make any such claims on the night in question, never made such claims to him in the months that followed, never contacted Staples Center security on that night or at any time thereafter, and never contacted the police on the night in question or any time thereafter. However, beginning in the summer of 2019, approximately eight months after the sexual encounter, she began demanding money from PUIG,” the counterclaim states.
Puig is seeking for the claims to be dismissed.
Puig last played in Major League Baseball in 2019 as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
Puig was set to play with the Atlanta Braves last season, but didn’t appear in a game after a positive COVID-19 test sidelined him and canceled the deal.
