Former Duke player denies rape claim

Former Duke University basketball player Corey Maggette has denied raping the womanwhohas accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of assaulting her when she was a Duke undergrad 20 years ago.

Meredith Watson has accused Maggette of raping her while the two were Duke students in 1999, according to a report in The New York Times.

The accusation, first reported by the Times on Monday, cited Facebook messages and a friend of Watson, a 2001 Duke undergrad. The Times also quoted Washington attorney R. Stanton Jones, a childhood friend of Watson’s, as saying he remembered Watson telling him Maggette raped her.

Through a spokesman, Maggette denied the accusation to the Times.

“It has only been through media accounts and a statement from Meredith Watson’s lawyer that I first learned or heard of anything about these sexual assault allegations,” Maggette said in a statement. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge.”

Maggette, 39, played one season at Duke in 1998-99, helping the Blue Devils go 37-2 and reach the NCAA tournament final. He turned pro after that season and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the NBA Draft.

After playing 14 years in the NBA, Maggette retired and is now part of the Los Angeles Clippers television broadcast team on Fox Sports West.

AFoxSports spokeswoman told The News & Observer via email Tuesday that they are aware of the accusations against Maggette. “FOX Sports takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are looking into the matter,” the statement said. “We have no further comment at this time.”

Duke spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said the school is looking into Watson’s claims. “We are in the process of gathering information to determine what policies and procedures were in place during the time period in which these events are alleged to have occurred, and whether they were activated and followed,” Schoenfeld said.