Free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig has been facing a civil lawsuit since October, when a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2018. Puig has now released a statement (all of which is available via his Twitter account) through his attorney denying the allegations.
“I am speaking out now to defend my name against false and malicious allegations by a woman who claims I assaulted her in 2018,” he said. “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 truth and facts coming out.”
Puig went on to admit that he and the alleged victim “had consensual sex” and “planned to get together again, but we never did.”
In a lengthy statement of his own, Alan Jackson – a member of Puig’s legal team – claims the allegations are “provable lies,” as “the plaintiff’s own Instagram messages and text messages contradict her claims. They show that she initiated contact with Mr. Puig earlier that evening.”
According to Jackson, the plaintiff continued to contact Puig after the encounter. Jackson expects “the truth to be revealed” and hopes “Major League Baseball and the clubs will see through this charade.”
Puig concluded by stating a desire “to play the game that I love so much.”
Puig last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Reds and Indians, and though he appeared close to a deal with the Braves last summer, the potential agreement collapsed after a positive COVID-19 test. The 30-year-old hasn’t garnered much interest since then.
