Josh Giddey of the Thunder will not be charged as police conclude their investigation.
As of Wednesday night, Newport Beach, California, police announced in a statement that they have concluded their investigation into allegations that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey had an inappropriate relationship with a minor and will not be pursuing charges against him. The investigation had been closed.
“After a thorough and extensive examination, you have completed our inquiry into information that had been circulating on the internet involving Josh Giddey,” according to the statement.
“Our detectives examined everything of the available data and were unable to confirm any unlawful conduct related to Mr. Giddey.”
Late in November, the allegations toward Giddey surfaced on social media. An anonymous social media user stated in a since-deleted post that the girl spotted in photographs and videos with Giddey was a junior in high school at the time. Subsequently, the internet account ceased to function.
A few days after the allegations surfaced, the Newport Beach police initiated an investigation.
On November 29, the department issued a statement in which it, in part, stated that it was “actively seeking more details related to these allegations or pursuing all leads and data to obtain the facts of the case.”
Michael Bass, a spokesman for the NBA, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the league is “continuing the review” of the matter and is cognizant of the conclusions reached by the police investigation into the allegations.
Early in December, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated that the investigation conducted by the league office would “take an opposite seat” to that of the Newport Beach police.
Police announced that Oklahoma City Thunder player Josh Giddey, 21, will not be charged in California after an investigation into whether he was in a relationship with a minor.
Thursday, the Newport Beach Police Department reported that investigators “have been unable to corroborate any illegal activity” associated with Giddey.
CNN attempted to contact the NBA as well as the Thunder over comment but didn’t get a response immediately.
Since November, when online posts containing photos and videos of Giddey with the purported victim went viral, the matter is currently under investigation.
The NBA declared its intention to investigate the allegations, which was subsequently accompanied by the Newport Beach, California, police a few days later, where the alleged incident occurred.
Although Giddey has been subject to allegations, the Thunder have elected to continue playing him.
While the Thunder are off to a 27-13 start, the former No. 6 overall selection has missed only one game this season. However, his numbers have declined significantly from the previous campaign.
Giddey has recorded career-low averages of 24.8 minutes per game, points (11.8), rebounds (6.1), and assists (4.8) in 39 games (all starts).
Police initiated an inquiry in November after online rumors that Giddey was involved in a sham relationship with a female minor. It is unknown whether Giddey has any affiliation with Newport Beach.
Giddey was questioned in November regarding social media posts that implied a relationship.
In response, he stated, “I understand the question, but I cannot comment further at this time… “I suppose you all have something to say about it at this moment, but I have nothing to say at this time.”
“In general, we will collaborate with law enforcement agencies to the extent that they are willing to disclose information to us,” Silver stated at a news conference in Las Vegas preceding the NBA’s seasonal tournament championship. “That is something we can learn from.”
In this instance, we collect whatever information is at our disposal by collaborating with a police department or a district attorney.
We simultaneously make every effort to comply with their investigation so long as they maintain that we are not impeding upon it. However, in general, we lag behind investigations and progress subsequently.