UFC star Conor McGregor was sued Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in 2023 after an NBA Finals game.
The lawsuit comes nearly two years after McGregor was first accused by the woman of sexually assaulting her in a bathroom at the Kaseya Center after Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, which took place on June 9. The lawsuit names the Heat and the Kaseya Center as co-defendants.
McGregor and the woman’s initial interactions were amicable, according to the lawsuit. But when she attempted to leave the Kesaya Center Courtside Club area, the woman said she was dragged by the hand to a nearby bathroom by one of McGregor’s friends or private security members.
There, the lawsuit says McGregor led her to a stall where the alleged assault took place.
McGregor’s lawyer called Tuesday’s filing “a new false story.”
“After a thorough investigation at the time, the State’s Attorney concluded that there was no case to pursue,” McGregor’s attorney, Barbara Llanes, said in a statement to The Athletic, referencing a 2023 criminal investigation into the same allegations. “Almost two years and at least three lawyers later the plaintiff has a new false story. We are confident that this case too will be dismissed.”
The Heat and Kaseya Center declined to comment on the lawsuit, and a request for comment was not returned by the UFC.
The lawsuit comes two months after a different woman who accused McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel room in December 2018 won a civil claim against the fighter in November. McGregor, who denied the accusations, was ordered to pay $257,000 to the accuser.
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The woman in Tuesday’s lawsuit, who is identified as “49 years old and employed as a Senior Wall Street Vice President at a high-profile financial institution,” is seeking compensation “for past and future medical treatment, compensatory damages, and costs, and such other and further relief” as the court deems necessary.
In an email to The Athletic on Wednesday, her attorney James Dunn said it is important to note that the plaintiff filed a police report shortly after the incident, on June 11, 2023. Less than a week later, the Heat issued a statement that they were conducting a full investigation.
“After the Miami-Dade County Prosecutor’s office elected not to pursue criminal charges, a civil case is the only avenue that my client has to seek justice in this case,” Dunn said. “My client has thought long and hard about the decision to pursue this civil case, and is fearful of the effect it may have on her job on Wall Street.”
According to Dunn, McGregor did not make any statements to police officers in 2023 as he invoked his Fifth Amendment and Miranda rights.
Dunn said the plaintiff’s main goal in filing the suit is to raise awareness and encourage others to report sexual assault.
The lawsuit also mentions the incident involving McGregor injuring the man playing Heat mascot Burnie. The incident, which took place in the third quarter of the same game where the alleged sexual assault occurred, began as a skit featuring McGregor punching Burnie and ended with the man playing the mascot being sent to the hospital with an injury.
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According to Tuesday’s lawsuit, the Kaseya Center staff were “on notice” about “McGregor’s potential danger to patrons” after the incident with Burnie. The lawsuit argues arena staff “had chargeable knowledge of a heightened risk of battery being carried out by” McGregor, but their failure to warn and protect the woman demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of patrons.
McGregor, 36, has not fought in the UFC since losing to Dustin Poirier in 2021. He pulled out of a scheduled bout with Michael Chandler in July citing injury, and has since said he agreed to a boxing exhibition against Logan Paul in India.
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(Photo: David Fitzgerald / Sportsfile via Getty Images)
