Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer January 15, 2025, 1:00pm ET
Close Michael Rothstein is ESPN’s NFL Nation correspondent. Rothstein will cover the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him on Twitter @MikeRothstein.
A woman who accused Conor McGregor of sexually assaulting her after a 2023 NBA Finals game has filed a lawsuit against the former UFC star.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, also alleges gross negligence by staff and security at Caseya Center, the Miami Heat’s home arena.
The woman, described in the complaint as a 49-year-old Miami-Dade County resident and vice president at a “well-known Wall Street financial institution,” claimed that McGregor sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of his home. are. Arena after Game 4 of the Heat’s NBA Finals series against the Denver Nuggets on June 9, 2023.
The civil suit stems from the same sexual assault charges filed against McGregor in June 2023. The incident report was filed with the Miami Police Department on June 11, 2023, at 6 p.m., less than 48 hours after the alleged sexual assault occurred. The Florida Attorney’s Office declined to file charges for the October 2023 assault.
“After a thorough investigation at the time, the State Attorney concluded there was no case to pursue,” McGregor’s attorney, Barbara Llanes, said in an emailed statement to ESPN. “After almost two years and at least three attorneys, the plaintiffs have told a new false story. We are confident that this case will also be dismissed.”
A Heat spokesperson told ESPN in an email that the organization does not comment on litigation.
McGregor, now 36, also denied the allegations when Llanes told ESPN in 2023 that the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion “will not be intimidated.”
The lawsuit seeks reasonable medical expenses, damages and other relief from Heat and McGregor.
Jim Dunn, the woman’s attorney, said in an email to ESPN that his client is pursuing a civil lawsuit to “raise awareness of sexual assault and encourage others to report it.”
“My client has thought long and hard about the decision to proceed with this civil case and fears it may affect his job on Wall Street,” Dunn said. “Nonetheless, her primary purpose in filing this lawsuit is to raise awareness about sexual assault and encourage others to report sexual assault.”
The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges McGregor “intentionally engaged in unlawful sexual contact” without the woman’s “consent or permission.”
After the Nuggets-Heat game, McGregor and the woman began talking at a courtside club inside the Caseya Center, according to the complaint. A friend of the woman said a member of McGregor’s team told the woman, “Conor told you to come get him,” and grabbed her wrist. The woman claims she asked to be released but was told, “No, if I lose you, Connor will kill me.”
According to the complaint, McGregor grabbed the woman’s hand and wrist in front of the men’s restroom and led her into the restroom, where an acquaintance followed. The woman was then allegedly taken to a food stall, and the complaint alleges that security guards and staff at the Kaseya Center did not allow her to follow her acquaintance. McGregor then assaulted the woman inside the stall, according to the complaint.
In a separate phone interview, Dunn told ESPN that his client filed the civil suit because it was “the only path to pursuing justice” after Miami-Dade County decided not to pursue criminal charges. spoke. The statute of limitations for civil lawsuits alleging gross negligence is two years.
The suit also cites an earlier incident that night in which McGregor punched the Heat mascot “Barney” twice during an on-court skit promoting a painkiller spray, sending a man to the hospital. The suit alleges that the mascot’s injury was known to arena staff but not to the general public during the game.
Dunn said McGregor received special treatment from arena staff as he was allowed to stay in the arena and was still served alcohol after the incident with Bernie, which occurred before the alleged assault on the woman. insisted. Accordingly, the lawsuit alleges that Kaseya Center staff “had incriminating knowledge that there was an increased risk of battery being committed” by Mr. McGregor.
McGregor last fought in the UFC in July 2021, losing by TKO to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas.
