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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
Police in Newport Beach, California, will not pursue charges against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey after closing an investigation into allegations that he had an improper relationship with an underage girl, according to a statement the department released Wednesday night.
“After a thorough and exhaustive examination, we have completed our investigation into information that was circulating on social media involving Josh Giddey,” the statement read. “Our detectives have reviewed all of the available information and were unable to corroborate any criminal activity related to Mr. Giddey.”
The allegations against Giddey surfaced on social media in late November. In a since-deleted post, an anonymous social media user said a girl who is seen with Giddey in videos and photographs was a high school junior at the time. The social media account has since been deactivated.
The Newport Beach police opened an investigation days after the allegations surfaced, releasing a statement on Nov. 29 that said, in part, that the department was “actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case.”
The NBA also was looking into the allegations, and spokesperson Michael Bass told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the league is aware of the findings in the police inquiry and is “continuing our review” of the matter.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver did, however, say in early December that the league office’s investigation would “take a back seat” to the Newport Beach police’s process.
“Generally, we will work with law enforcement to the extent they will share with us the information they have,” Silver said during his Las Vegas news conference before the NBA’s in-season tournament final. “We can learn from that. We gather whatever information is available to us, in working alongside a police department in this case, or a D.A. As long as they say that we are not interfering with their investigation, we do what we can at the same time. But generally, we fall in behind any investigation and then go from there.”
Giddey, 21, has declined to comment about the allegations. In late November, Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault referred to the allegations as a “personal matter” and declined further comment other than saying the organization made the decision for Giddey to continue playing based on the facts the Thunder have.
Giddey, who has been routinely booed in road games since the allegations surfaced, is averaging 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the 27-13 Thunder.
