The unnamed player facing an accusation of sexual assault in Cleveland has been named. According to TMZ, the first-round prospect is Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley.
Conley strongly denies the accusations.
Per TMZ, a police report explains that a 23-year-old woman said Conley raped her in the bathroom of a suite at the Westin Hotel in Cleveland. The police report reportedly explains that the alleged victim claims she met Conley in an elevator, and that he asked her to have a “foursome.” The alleged victim claims she declined to participate but agreed to watch as others had group sex.
In the initial report regarding the incident, which didn’t name Conley, lawyer Kevin Spellacy called the accusation “ludicrous and ridiculous,” and argued that “this young lady is an opportunist and it’s actually despicable.”
According to TMZ, two of Conley’s friends told police nothing happened between him and the woman.
Conley supposedly is willing to be interviewed after the draft. If, however, he’s not cleared by police before the draft, his stock could plummet. At least one team that was considering taking Conley in the first round has told PFT that, if this cloud remains as of Thursday night, the team won’t be able to select him.