Josh Giddey declines to comment on alleged underage relationship controversy after case closure
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey will reportedly avoid facing any criminal charges for his alleged relationship with a minor. This news comes after a lengthy investigation by the Newport Beach Police Department was unable to find any evidence of criminal activity.
The investigation started back in November after several photos surfaced on social media showing him with a girl who was allegedly underage. The images have been deleted since.
Since the allegations surfaced and the investigations into him started, the OKC Thunder guard has barely said anything regarding the matter.
Recently, when asked about how Giddey could focus on basketball after the investigation was closed, Giddey declined to comment, saying (via Joel Lorenzi on X):
“I get that you have to ask that, but I have no comment regarding that situation.”
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The NBA will continue its investigation into Josh Giddey's alleged relationship with a minor
Despite the investigation into the Australian guard's alleged improper relationship with an underage girl being closed by the Newport Beach Police Department, Josh Giddey is not yet entirely in the clear as the NBA will start looking into the accusations.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation in December and shared where the league's investigation stood and why the OKC Thunder guard has not been suspended from the league.
"If you look back, I can't think of many circumstances where we've suspended a player based on an allegation alone," Silver said on ESPN. "And in this case, we have an allegation and then you have a police investigation and a parallel police investigation. I'll also add that where there is a criminal investigation we take a backseat."
Silver proceeded to explain the logic behind this decision.
"So you have an allegation, you have an ongoing criminal investigation. That impacts how the players and the player's association can work with us because of course the player needs to protect his rights... This is the path we've consistently followed in the past... Newport Police opened up an investigation, notified us, we then take a backseat."
However, now that the investigation into the allegations surrounding Giddey has been closed by the police, the NBA can begin looking into it more seriously. This investigation by the league is not new, as a spokesman said in November that they are already looking into the matter.
The investigation that the league will be making into the allegation could determine whether the young guard will be suspended or if a more serious sanction is required.
Also read: "He clearly paid off the family" - Josh Giddey facing no charges in alleged relationship with underage girl stuns NBA fans