Co-worker accuses ex-NBA player Bibby of sexual assault

The attorney for former NBA player Mike Bibby says his client did not sexually assault or harass a teacher at the high school where Bibby is now the head basketball coach.

Bibby didn’t offer a comment about the allegation, which came from a woman who teaches at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. The woman was granted a restraining order against Bibby on Friday, according to The Arizona Republic, which obtained a copy.

Bibby’s attorney, Donald Harris, said he could say “with pretty much certainty this alleged incident didn’t happen and that will be shown down the road. Michael Bibby did not participate in a sexual assault of any way, shape or form that was alleged by this lady two years ago.”

The woman alleges that the assault took place in February 2017. She says that while they were on school grounds, he pulled her into his car. He then groped her and rubbed his genitals against her, she says.

The Paradise Valley Unified School District has acknowledged that Phoenix police have opened an investigation of the accusation and that the district previously began its own internal investigation.

The teacher notified the school district earlier this month of her allegation. A statement from the school district also said police asked the district to halt its investigation until the police have finished theirs.

Bibby, 40, starred at Shadow Mountain High in the 1990s, leading the school to its first state basketball title. In the six years Bibby has been the school’s coach, the team has won five state titles, just wrapping its fourth straight crown on Saturday.

Bibby played two years for the University of Arizona Wildcats, leading them to their only national championship in 1997. The then-Vancouver Grizzlies took him second overall in the 1998 NBA Draft.

In 14 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks, Bibby averaged 14.7 points and 5.5 assists per game. He also played for the Washington Wizards, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com