(Image via sportingnews.com)
Volunteer Writer: Aidan Danforth
Email: adanforth@umassd.edu
As of Thanksgiving weekend, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddy is facing allegations of being with an underage girl.
According to several sources, including the Detroit Free Press and the New York Post, Giddy had an affair with the young woman, Liv Cook, two years ago at a nightclub.
At the time, he thought Cook was 19 years old. The day after, when he figured out she was 15 and not 19, he ended all contact with her.
So what the young NBA star once saw as a one-night-stand is returning to haunt the former 6th overall pick.
The claims began on social media, where pictures showed the NBA player with a younger woman. However, there are no clues or evidence of who posted these pictures initially and how they got into the hands of this person.
One of the pictures clearly shows a shirtless Giddy with a young woman next to him who looked to be 15 years old and in high school.
There is also a video showing Giddy telling the camera, “Me and my girl botta head back to mine,” with Cook clearly visible. This clip, posted on TikTok by user bignate01815, shows part of the video leaked online.
Even after Giddy ended contact with the girl, in July of 2022, Giddy was seen in a neighborhood near Newport Beach where he was pulled over twice in four days for having two plates on his car.
All of this is reported to have happened back in 2021, when, at the time, Giddy was a rookie.
Despite the allegations, Giddy has played in all of OKC’s games this season. When media representatives asked the coaches about the situation, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault clarified:
“[If he is] available to play. Will play. No change in status from a basketball standpoint. Still, I have no comment on anything else.”
When asked about the scandal, Giddy replied, “I understand the question obviously, but there’s no comment right now.”
With these allegations surrounding the young NBA star, fans reportedly booed Giddy during their game against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 25th. The Thunders lost that game.
Those boos continued during the Thunders game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 28th, and that game was also a loss for the team.
The case is still under investigation, but no charges have been placed on the young star at the moment. However, new information has emerged, which may determine the next step in the investigation.
Per several sources, including Marca, the family of the minor does not want to destroy the career of the young NBA star. They do not want to be involved in these allegations and are currently refusing to cooperate with the police.
Cook’s family is being represented by lawyer Gloria Allred, who is known for her involvement in women’s rights cases, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Allred is one of the most famous female law attorneys in the country. She focuses on defending victims who have their rights violated. She has been doing this for forty years and has been involved with many high-profile topics. One of the biggest topics her firm deals with is sexual assault.
Allred has been a big part of multiple scandals, including the Britney Spears Bodyguard Scandal, the Tiger Woods Scandal, and many of the women who were victims of Bill Cosby’s sexual harassment allegations.
So far, she has made no comments about Josh Giddy’s case, but her involvement will grow as more evidence is uncovered.
There is still much to uncover in this case, and more information is sure to come up as police continue to investigate and as the NBA season continues forward.
If this situation progresses, the young NBA star could face legal consequences depending on the evidence officials find, which could significantly change the trajectory of his career.
Sexual misconduct in sports is a serious problem that can have a negative long-term impact on the perpetrator, the victim, and even the people around them. Regardless of whether someone is an athlete, a coach, or an owner, sexual misconduct is something that has resulted in the end of many people’s careers.
Unfortunately, many athletes have gotten away with such cases, including NFL Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was facing twenty-four sexual harassment and assault charges by twenty-four different women.
Watson ended up being sent to trial back in 2022 by the Harris County Grand Jury. The jury reviewed the claims and found Watson not guilty of any charges.
The NFL gave Watson an eleven-game suspension for the 2022 season; however, players like Calvin Ridley were suspended for an entire season for less serious matters.
Any typical American citizen would be locked up for a crime like sexual misconduct. Still, athletes have a tendency to get away with sexual misconduct and have had their cases forgotten about in several instances.
Will Josh Giddy’s case get swept under the rug like with other athletes before, or will he have to face justice and potentially be charged with sexual misconduct and be forced to pay for his actions?