Conor McGregor Video Supports Sex Assault Accuser's Claim, Her ...
The lawyer for Conor McGregor's accuser on Friday said a video that reportedly shows him leading the woman into a VIP men's room at the Miami Heat's Kaseya Center didn't disprove her allegations against the former UFC champion.
"The video does not contradict anything," Ariel Mitchell tells The Messenger by email.
Conor McGregor is seen during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at on May 25, 2022 in Cannes, France.Edward Berthelot/GC Images"My client's sentiment is simple, she was sexually assaulted by Connor McGregor in the bathroom of the Kaseya Center after Game Four of the NBA Finals. That video supports that position.
"Any attempts to try to conflate and confuse things by talking about semantics is nothing more than victim blaming and is the biggest reason why people do not report these types of crimes," Mitchell adds.
Mitchell also responded to a statement earlier Friday in which McGregor's lawyer, Barbara Llanes, said Mitchell "has changed her story" in response to the video.
Llanes also accused Mitchell of engaging in a "shakedown" of McGregor, 34.
"This is typical of abusers, trying to dodge accountability by using any minuscule opportunity to scream inconsistency," Mitchell says.
Llanes didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The cellphone video posted online by TMZ reportedly shows McGregor holding the hand of his accuser as they walked into the Kaseya Center restroom on June 9.
In legal letters sent Monday to McGregor, the NBA and the Miami Heat, Mitchell alleged that "Mr. McGregor, aided and abetted by the NBA and Miami Heat Kaseya security, had the victim physically forced via security into the men’s bathroom, separating her from her friend and trapping her inside with Mr. McGregor and his security guard."
Mitchell also alleged that McGregor "shoved his tongue in the victim’s mouth and aggressively kissed her," forced her to perform oral sex and "aggressively grabbed her, pinned her up against the wall and then ripped the elastic waist band of her pants while pulling them down" while trying to commit a sex act.
The Miami Heat on Thursday said they were "conducting a full investigation" and the NBA said it was "working with the team to gather more information."
The Miami Police Department also said its Special Victims Unit began investigating after a report was filed Sunday.
A department spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.