Avery Bradley accused of sexual assault; denies allegations

[EJPLAYA]

Please people. You don't pay out a six figure settlement if you didn't do it. Bet if you replaced the name Avery Bradley with Donald Trump no one would be giving him the benefit of the doubt...

Maybe you do pay 6 figures just to end it -- I don't know and neither do you.

And you are correct -- if #16 came out accusing Donald Trump, most of us would not be giving the POTUS much benefit of the doubt.   In fairness, this isn't political for most of us -- we know that this type of behavior occurs within all demographics and ideologies.  Remember when the Ted Cruz accusations were made?  Even the likes of Gerry Callahan had him guilty as charged -- but soon, as more information was available -- almost everyone accepted that the charges were false. 

Re: Avery: I don't think there was a rush to judgment (one way or the other) on this thread.  Most hope it's not true but understand that it could be true.  In fairness to all parties, we should acknowledge that none of us know the truth and that circumstantial facts like a payoff or a delayed accusation are not proof of anything.

In the case of Avery Bradley, as in the case of Donald Trump... I just hope he didn't do it.

No. I DO know that I don't do it. Because I know that the story always leaks out eventually and so paying that hush money is a waste. Bet he's wishing he had kept his money today.  If I didn't do something I'd spend 100k in lawyers fees suing the pants off the liar vs acknowledge that I did this heinous act. And that's what a payoff is.

That being said, I find it funny how people somehow"know" these athletes and can't believe that they could do something like this. We know Avery who hasn't had an emotion on his face in all the years he's been here. We put these guys up on a pedestal because they're on our team. We don't know them at all.

[Roy H.]

Some alleged details from TMZ:

Here's what we know ... the allegation stems from an incident on May 23 in Cleveland, Ohio. The woman involved claimed Bradley sexually assaulted her while she was passed out drunk.

Bradley was a member of the Boston Celtics at the time of the incident. The Celtics were in Cleveland to play the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the incident, the woman contacted Bradley and accused him of assaulting her. The two sides came together to work out a deal to keep her quiet and prevent her from releasing any video, photos or audio.

At one point in the negotiations, the parties considered resolving the matter for $400,000 ... but it's unclear what number Bradley ultimately agreed to pay. We're told the final figure was high.

The alleged victim is described as a “reality star”.

[footey]

No matter what happened, this will damage the clean, stellar reputation AB has enjoyed for so many years.   Alcohol and sex don't mix, people.  This is the source of most sexual assaults on college campuses. 

[Ilikesports17]

Well this makes me really sad

[SHAQATTACK]

yeah Im sad over this .  AB seemed like " the rock" of what a good person and NBA should be.  It doesn't fit with his history .

If I was in this situation ,  I do nothing .....if im 100 % in the clear.   I discuss it with my wife and lawyer .   I don't pay ANYBODY hush money If Im being extorted.   You just let it play out and deny any wrong doing. She is out for a payday with no proof.   IF Im 100% innocent.

On the other hand ,  IF he has done something minor , kissed her and she taped it .....could be a set up .   She might have entrapped him to extort him.

Then i fight it.   

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Some alleged details from TMZ:

Here's what we know ... the allegation stems from an incident on May 23 in Cleveland, Ohio. The woman involved claimed Bradley sexually assaulted her while she was passed out drunk.

Bradley was a member of the Boston Celtics at the time of the incident. The Celtics were in Cleveland to play the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the incident, the woman contacted Bradley and accused him of assaulting her. The two sides came together to work out a deal to keep her quiet and prevent her from releasing any video, photos or audio.

At one point in the negotiations, the parties considered resolving the matter for $400,000 ... but it's unclear what number Bradley ultimately agreed to pay. We're told the final figure was high.

The alleged victim is described as a “reality star”.

This may sound stupid, but I'll ask it anyway.

1. How did she know she was sexually assaulted if she was "passed out drunk"?

2. How can she take video, photos and/or audio if she was indeed passed out? Did someone else took it for her?

I am on the side of take the accusations seriously, but if she is "passed out drunk", how did she know? This is confusing (to me at least).

[saltlover]

Lol the woman just wants his money.

Sounds like he willingly gave her a lot of it to keep her quiet, too.

With absolutely no details about the allegations, why would you assume she’s lying?

We shouldn't assume anything until the facts are laid out (I know you know this).

And while I haven't seen but maybe one person here assume his guilt, it's blatantly unfair to the accused in these situations that our society has seemingly decided that if you're accused, your guilty and should lose your reputation, your job, ect. without any regard for due process. That is every bit as unfair as assuming the accuser is lying.

I just have never understood the rush to judgment mentality of so many in our society.

I’m going to disagree, somewhat.  Maybe Moranis, Jpotter, and any other Cleveland-based posters here should not rush to judgment, as ultimately there could be a civil or criminal proceeding in which they are potential jurors.  If you live in Northeast Ohio, the same could hold for you.  But why should I be forced to reserve all judgment, especially when one party has paid another to keep another from going to court where such due process would ultimately be relevant?  Doing as you suggest creates a system where being wealthy requires everyone to withhold judgment on everything you are accused of, until you malign someone who just wants a day in court, no matter monetary offer.

The facts that we know are that 1) the vast majority of women who make these accusations are telling the truth, and 2) Avery, very quickly, paid this woman not to go public.  So, in general she’s likely to be truthful, and Avery chose to pay money instead of defend himself against it.

The only reason I have any kind of doubt is because it seems unlike Avery for this to be true.  But at the same time, a few weeks ago James Levine was “outed” as a sex abuser and lost his job conducting the Met opera, amongst other gigs.  Classical music fans were shocked.  But as someone who used to be in the classical music world, my shock was “Really, people didn’t know about this??” I heard those rumors for so long I don’t even know when I first heard them to begin with, but as I left music almost six years ago, it had to be much longer than that.  In other words, I know I have to not let my limited knowledge of Avery as a fan cloud the judgment I might come to based on other information, the same as classical music fans had to come to terms that James Levine should not be left alone with teenage boys (and people had been keeping their sons away from him for years).

[PhoSita]

I wonder if in these situations where there is a confidentiality agreement, the NBA is nonetheless privy to the details of the allegation.  If not, I feel like the NBA should be. 

I respect that people in these situations have the right to contract to a settlement of any civil claims, including a confidentiality agreement.  Still, I think when the accused is a member of a professional organization, or as here, a professional athlete in a league that relies on public good will (and makes heavy use of public funds), there should be some kind of internal oversight and review of the details of such allegations.

I don't see how the NBA has any right whatsoever to the details of a private, confidential agreement with no criminal or public component. They may have some room to react once it's made public, but prior to that, no.

The conduct of NBA athletes in public reflects on the league as a whole, and the league has a vested interest in making sure the athletes they feature in their games represent the league in a positive manner.

I think leagues like the NBA should be expected to police the public conduct of their players, and they should be empowered to do so.  That is a responsibility I feel should come along with the investiture of public trust (and money) that leagues like the NBA enjoy.

[PhoSita]

No matter what happened, this will damage the clean, stellar reputation AB has enjoyed for so many years.   Alcohol and sex don't mix, people.  This is the source of most sexual assaults on college campuses.

Yup.  And it won't change until we change public attitudes relating to the permissibility of engaging in sexual interactions when one or both people are significantly intoxicated (as in, to the point they may not remember it later).

[KGs Knee]

Lol the woman just wants his money.

Sounds like he willingly gave her a lot of it to keep her quiet, too.

With absolutely no details about the allegations, why would you assume she’s lying?

We shouldn't assume anything until the facts are laid out (I know you know this).

And while I haven't seen but maybe one person here assume his guilt, it's blatantly unfair to the accused in these situations that our society has seemingly decided that if you're accused, your guilty and should lose your reputation, your job, ect. without any regard for due process. That is every bit as unfair as assuming the accuser is lying.

I just have never understood the rush to judgment mentality of so many in our society.

I’m going to disagree, somewhat.  Maybe Moranis, Jpotter, and any other Cleveland-based posters here should not rush to judgment, as ultimately there could be a civil or criminal proceeding in which they are potential jurors.  If you live in Northeast Ohio, the same could hold for you.  But why should I be forced to reserve all judgment, especially when one party has paid another to keep another from going to court where such due process would ultimately be relevant?  Doing as you suggest creates a system where being wealthy requires everyone to withhold judgment on everything you are accused of, until you malign someone who just wants a day in court, no matter monetary offer.

The facts that we know are that 1) the vast majority of women who make these accusations are telling the truth, and 2) Avery, very quickly, paid this woman not to go public.  So, in general she’s likely to be truthful, and Avery chose to pay money instead of defend himself against it.

The only reason I have any kind of doubt is because it seems unlike Avery for this to be true.  But at the same time, a few weeks ago James Levine was “outed” as a sex abuser and lost his job conducting the Met opera, amongst other gigs.  Classical music fans were shocked.  But as someone who used to be in the classical music world, my shock was “Really, people didn’t know about this??” I heard those rumors for so long I don’t even know when I first heard them to begin with, but as I left music almost six years ago, it had to be much longer than that.  In other words, I know I have to not let my limited knowledge of Avery as a fan cloud the judgment I might come to based on other information, the same as classical music fans had to come to terms that James Levine should not be left alone with teenage boys (and people had been keeping their sons away from him for years).

OK, so go ahead and assume Avery is guilty. Take his take job, his reputation, his potential to earn a living in the future, all without knowing the facts, simply because you choose to believe whatever you think is more likely.

And if it turns out to all be false, then what? The damage is already done.

[bello_man09]

this Sexual assault allegations are ridiculous.

[RJ87]

Some alleged details from TMZ:

Here's what we know ... the allegation stems from an incident on May 23 in Cleveland, Ohio. The woman involved claimed Bradley sexually assaulted her while she was passed out drunk.

Bradley was a member of the Boston Celtics at the time of the incident. The Celtics were in Cleveland to play the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the incident, the woman contacted Bradley and accused him of assaulting her. The two sides came together to work out a deal to keep her quiet and prevent her from releasing any video, photos or audio.

At one point in the negotiations, the parties considered resolving the matter for $400,000 ... but it's unclear what number Bradley ultimately agreed to pay. We're told the final figure was high.

The alleged victim is described as a “reality star”.

This may sound stupid, but I'll ask it anyway.

1. How did she know she was sexually assaulted if she was "passed out drunk"?

2. How can she take video, photos and/or audio if she was indeed passed out? Did someone else took it for her?

I am on the side of take the accusations seriously, but if she is "passed out drunk", how did she know? This is confusing (to me at least).

As a woman, I'll answer the first question.

Without getting graphic, physically you know when something's happened to you. Also passing out doesn't mean she didn't wake up at some point during.

As to the second question, we don't know the details. If this happened at someone's home, there could be security footage.

[RJ87]

Lol the woman just wants his money.

Sounds like he willingly gave her a lot of it to keep her quiet, too.

With absolutely no details about the allegations, why would you assume she’s lying?

We shouldn't assume anything until the facts are laid out (I know you know this).

And while I haven't seen but maybe one person here assume his guilt, it's blatantly unfair to the accused in these situations that our society has seemingly decided that if you're accused, your guilty and should lose your reputation, your job, ect. without any regard for due process. That is every bit as unfair as assuming the accuser is lying.

I just have never understood the rush to judgment mentality of so many in our society.

I’m going to disagree, somewhat.  Maybe Moranis, Jpotter, and any other Cleveland-based posters here should not rush to judgment, as ultimately there could be a civil or criminal proceeding in which they are potential jurors.  If you live in Northeast Ohio, the same could hold for you.  But why should I be forced to reserve all judgment, especially when one party has paid another to keep another from going to court where such due process would ultimately be relevant?  Doing as you suggest creates a system where being wealthy requires everyone to withhold judgment on everything you are accused of, until you malign someone who just wants a day in court, no matter monetary offer.

The facts that we know are that 1) the vast majority of women who make these accusations are telling the truth, and 2) Avery, very quickly, paid this woman not to go public.  So, in general she’s likely to be truthful, and Avery chose to pay money instead of defend himself against it.

The only reason I have any kind of doubt is because it seems unlike Avery for this to be true. But at the same time, a few weeks ago James Levine was “outed” as a sex abuser and lost his job conducting the Met opera, amongst other gigs.  Classical music fans were shocked.  But as someone who used to be in the classical music world, my shock was “Really, people didn’t know about this??” I heard those rumors for so long I don’t even know when I first heard them to begin with, but as I left music almost six years ago, it had to be much longer than that.  In other words, I know I have to not let my limited knowledge of Avery as a fan cloud the judgment I might come to based on other information, the same as classical music fans had to come to terms that James Levine should not be left alone with teenage boys (and people had been keeping their sons away from him for years).

I've said this before on this board, but we don't know these athletes. This is a billion dollar business. There's high powered agents, managers, and publicists behind them who carefully cultivate their public personas. We know what they want us to know.

[EJPLAYA]

Lol the woman just wants his money.

Sounds like he willingly gave her a lot of it to keep her quiet, too.

With absolutely no details about the allegations, why would you assume she’s lying?

We shouldn't assume anything until the facts are laid out (I know you know this).

And while I haven't seen but maybe one person here assume his guilt, it's blatantly unfair to the accused in these situations that our society has seemingly decided that if you're accused, your guilty and should lose your reputation, your job, ect. without any regard for due process. That is every bit as unfair as assuming the accuser is lying.

I just have never understood the rush to judgment mentality of so many in our society.

I’m going to disagree, somewhat.  Maybe Moranis, Jpotter, and any other Cleveland-based posters here should not rush to judgment, as ultimately there could be a civil or criminal proceeding in which they are potential jurors.  If you live in Northeast Ohio, the same could hold for you.  But why should I be forced to reserve all judgment, especially when one party has paid another to keep another from going to court where such due process would ultimately be relevant?  Doing as you suggest creates a system where being wealthy requires everyone to withhold judgment on everything you are accused of, until you malign someone who just wants a day in court, no matter monetary offer.

The facts that we know are that 1) the vast majority of women who make these accusations are telling the truth, and 2) Avery, very quickly, paid this woman not to go public.  So, in general she’s likely to be truthful, and Avery chose to pay money instead of defend himself against it.

The only reason I have any kind of doubt is because it seems unlike Avery for this to be true.  But at the same time, a few weeks ago James Levine was “outed” as a sex abuser and lost his job conducting the Met opera, amongst other gigs.  Classical music fans were shocked.  But as someone who used to be in the classical music world, my shock was “Really, people didn’t know about this??” I heard those rumors for so long I don’t even know when I first heard them to begin with, but as I left music almost six years ago, it had to be much longer than that.  In other words, I know I have to not let my limited knowledge of Avery as a fan cloud the judgment I might come to based on other information, the same as classical music fans had to come to terms that James Levine should not be left alone with teenage boys (and people had been keeping their sons away from him for years).

OK, so go ahead and assume Avery is guilty. Take his take job, his reputation, his potential to earn a living in the future, all without knowing the facts, simply because you choose to believe whatever you think is more likely.

And if it turns out to all be false, then what? The damage is already done.

And your statements are correct and valid EXCEPT for the fact that paying her off acknowledges guilt. And where did someone take his job or ability to earn a living in the future? And let's assume that it didn't happen. At what point does Avery have a responsibility for his actions? First putting himself in that position in the first place. Second paying her off to be quiet? HE chose to do those things that affected his reputation. Where is personal accountability in all of this? Always someone else's fault these days. Just like Harden and his blaming of the refs last night.

[KGs Knee]

Lol the woman just wants his money.

Sounds like he willingly gave her a lot of it to keep her quiet, too.

With absolutely no details about the allegations, why would you assume she’s lying?

We shouldn't assume anything until the facts are laid out (I know you know this).

And while I haven't seen but maybe one person here assume his guilt, it's blatantly unfair to the accused in these situations that our society has seemingly decided that if you're accused, your guilty and should lose your reputation, your job, ect. without any regard for due process. That is every bit as unfair as assuming the accuser is lying.

I just have never understood the rush to judgment mentality of so many in our society.

I’m going to disagree, somewhat.  Maybe Moranis, Jpotter, and any other Cleveland-based posters here should not rush to judgment, as ultimately there could be a civil or criminal proceeding in which they are potential jurors.  If you live in Northeast Ohio, the same could hold for you.  But why should I be forced to reserve all judgment, especially when one party has paid another to keep another from going to court where such due process would ultimately be relevant?  Doing as you suggest creates a system where being wealthy requires everyone to withhold judgment on everything you are accused of, until you malign someone who just wants a day in court, no matter monetary offer.

The facts that we know are that 1) the vast majority of women who make these accusations are telling the truth, and 2) Avery, very quickly, paid this woman not to go public.  So, in general she’s likely to be truthful, and Avery chose to pay money instead of defend himself against it.

The only reason I have any kind of doubt is because it seems unlike Avery for this to be true. But at the same time, a few weeks ago James Levine was “outed” as a sex abuser and lost his job conducting the Met opera, amongst other gigs.  Classical music fans were shocked.  But as someone who used to be in the classical music world, my shock was “Really, people didn’t know about this??” I heard those rumors for so long I don’t even know when I first heard them to begin with, but as I left music almost six years ago, it had to be much longer than that.  In other words, I know I have to not let my limited knowledge of Avery as a fan cloud the judgment I might come to based on other information, the same as classical music fans had to come to terms that James Levine should not be left alone with teenage boys (and people had been keeping their sons away from him for years).

I've said this before on this board, but we don't know these athletes. This is a billion dollar business. There's high powered agents, managers, and publicists behind them who carefully cultivate their public personas. We know what they want us to know.

I agree. We don't actually know these people.   We only know what we've been told by interested parties.