Update 11:35 p.m.: According to an article by The New York Times published on Monday, Meredith Watson wrote in Facebook messages to a friend that former Duke men's basketball player Corey Maggette raped her in 1999 while both were students at the university. The New York Times reported that in the messages, Watson revealed that school officials did not pursue her claim.
Maggette denied the allegations against him through a spokesperson on Monday night.
"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 the statement to The New York Times. "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge."
On Sunday, ESPN broke the story of an alleged sexual assault by a player on Duke University's 1999 men's basketball team.
Former Duke student Meredith Watson released statements through her attorney on Friday that alleged a Duke basketball player sexually assaulted her in 1999, according to ESPN. That same day, Watson said that Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted her while they were both students at Duke in 2000, according to The New York Times.
The Duke basketball player’s identity is not yet known, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski commented on the report to ESPN on Saturday, acknowledging the magnitude of the claims brought forward by Watson.
He said he had not heard about the allegation until late Friday night and had no knowledge of it, according to ESPN and he said Kevin White, the school’s director of athletics, had released a statement that Krzyzewski would give to reporters.
Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations at Duke, released an official statement on Monday.
