A woman has accused mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of sexually assaulting her at an NBA Finals tie in Florida in 2023.
In a civil lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Florida on Tuesday, the 49-year-old plaintiff – a senior Wall Street executive – alleges Mr McGregor assaulted her by engaging in “unlawful sexual contact” in a bathroom stall at the Kaseya Centre in Miami following the basketball match between Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets on June 9th, 2023.
The plaintiff claims that Mr McGregor acted for “his own sexual gratification and for the purposes of degrading [her]”.
Miami Heat and Basketball Properties LLC, operators of the Kaseya Centre, are also named in the lawsuit as co-defendants.
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Mr McGregor has denied the allegations, calling them a “shakedown”, according to reports.
His attorney Barbara Llanes said: “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 36-year-old Crumlin native faces a count of battery arising from the allegations.
The woman, a Florida resident, is not named in the lawsuit. She is seeking damages greater than $75,000 (€73,000).
The incident was initially reported to Miami police on June 11th, 2023. However, in October 2023, the Florida state attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges.
The incident is alleged to have occurred after the basketball game, when a friend or member of Mr McGregor’s security detail led the plaintiff to him by grabbing her by the wrist.
When the plaintiff requested the friend or security official to let go of her wrist, she alleges he said: “No, Conor will kill me if I lose you.”
Following this, Mr McGregor led the plaintiff to a stall in a men’s bathroom where the sexual assault is alleged to have occurred, according to the legal complaint filed in the US federal court.
Mr McGregor and the plaintiff had engaged in “amicable conversation” earlier that evening, the lawsuit states.
The legal complaint further alleges that Mr McGregor was “permitted overservice” of intoxicants by Kesaya Centre staff, and that they were “on notice” of Mr McGregor’s “potential danger to patrons”.
The plaintiff claims that Mr McGregor appeared to be “under the influence of intoxicants and out of control” during the alleged sexual assault. The Kaseya Centre faces a count of gross negligence, arising from the plaintiff’s claim it failed to ensure a safe environment.
The lawsuit also outlines how Mr McGregor punched a Miami Heat mascot during a half-time promotional skit. The mascot was injured in the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Neither the Miami Heat nor Basketball Properties LLC has commented on the latest lawsuit, according to reports.
In Ireland, a jury at the High Court found against Mr McGregor last year in a civil rape case taken by Dublin woman Nikita Hand.
Ms Hand (35) was last November awarded almost €250,000 damages after a High Court jury upheld her civil claim that she was raped by the mixed martial arts fighter at the Beacon Hotel in south Dublin in December 2018.
