Both the NBA and the Newport Beach, California, police are investigating an alleged inappropriate relationship between the Thunder’s Josh Giddey and a minor.
Through these investigations Giddey has remained with the Thunder and part of their rotation (he has been booed at points by fans in other cities). That has led to calls of a double standard — why is Giddey allowed to continue playing while others such as Miles Bridges and Kevin Porter Jr. (both with domestic violence situations) were suspended or out of the league? Silver responded on ESPN, telling Malika Andrews there are only allegations against Giddey.
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“I can’t think of many circumstances where we’ve suspended a player based on an allegation alone. And in this case, so we have an allegation and then you have a police investigation and a parallel league investigation. I’d also add that where there is a criminal investigation, we take a backseat... There’s a there’s an ongoing criminal investigation. Newport Police opened up that investigation, notified us, we then take a backseat and that’s where things currently stand.”
Where Giddey’s situation currently differs from Bridges’ and Porter’s is police charges. Bridges was charged and eventually pled “no contest” (guilty without admitting guilt) and that’s when the league stepped in with a suspension. Porter Jr. was arrested and charged, and while those charges have been reduced they still exist and a trial (or plea) is upcoming. (In Porter Jr.'s case, the Rockets traded him to the Thunder who waived him, so the league has not suspended him because, right now, he’s not in the NBA. He’s not likely to be for a while for reasons beyond these charges.)
There are no charges against Giddey to this point. The investigation into Giddey reportedly has been slowed because the family and the minor in question — represented by Gloria Allred — have not cooperated with police, according to TMZ.
The allegations against Giddey first surfaced on social media, saying he had an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl, reportedly a high school junior (the age of consent in California is 18). The original social media posts about Giddey and the girl were taken down.
Giddey, 21, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and coach Mark Daigneault have declined to comment on the situation.
Based on what Silver said, things will continue as they are until the Newport Beach Police wrap up their investigation.
