Josh Giddey has made headlines for all the wrong reasons recently after it was alleged that he got into a relationship with an underage girl. Fellow Australian and former NBA player Andrew Bogut has now shared some details on the situation on his Rogue Bogues podcast.
“If Josh was 19, 20, 21 and knowingly seeking out a 15-year-old girl, absolutely despicable behavior, I’m strongly against it,” Bogut said. “… I don’t think this is that from what I understand. If I’m wrong I’ll come back and apologize, I don’t think it is that. I think the girl was younger. From what I understand is, the girl in question has lied about her age and said that she was of age at the time.”
Bogut also shared that this happened over a year ago, but admits it is hard to give proper commentary on the matter until the whole situation plays out. The 39-year-old did reveal, though, that the Oklahoma City Thunder have known about this relationship for quite a while.
“OKC have been aware of this from what I’m told for the last year they’ve known about it,” Bogut continued. “They have deemed Josh free to play, they don’t see any concerns. The NBA have allowed that which is kind of telling because when these kind of things happen, the NBA kind of tries to, ‘Hey, take a couple game off till we figure this thing out.'”
Bogut does wonder, though, whether the NBA can take any action considering no charge has been filed against Giddey.
“He has not been formally charged,” Bogut continued. “I don’t believe he has even been interviewed by police to this point. I think it occurred in California where the age of consent is 18 which does throw a spanner in the works as to did Josh know she was (underage).”
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From what he has heard, the girl and her family are not going to be pressing charges against Giddey, as she lied about her age to him. Bogut says the 21-year-old won’t land in trouble over this situation, but he is obviously no legal expert, so take that with a pinch of salt.
All in all, these were some very interesting claims from Bogut, but, of course, we have no way to know for sure if this is the exact situation at hand. You can believe that the Thunder knew about the relationship, but they certainly wouldn’t have known that she was underage.
While the team doesn’t appear to be looking into this, the NBA has launched an investigation into Giddey. This is definitely a very messy situation and I don’t think anyone can say for sure how things are going to pan out.
For now, Giddey will continue to play for the Thunder, with his head coach Mark Daigneault stating it wasn’t even a decision that they had to make, implying it was business as usual. He was in the starting lineup for the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday and will continue to be in it for the foreseeable future.
Giddey, who was the sixth pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, is averaging 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game this season for a Thunder side that sports an 11-5 record.
Josh Giddey Could Lose $40 Million Sponsorship Deal Amid These Allegations
Whatever happens in this situation from a legal standpoint, Giddey’s reputation has certainly gone down the drain. At the end of the day, he did enter into a relationship with an underage girl, which is not acceptable.
With growing backlash coming his way, the Australian’s bank account might be set to take a hit. Reports indicate Giddey could lose a $40 million sponsorship deal with Weet-Bix, an Australian cereal brand owned by the Sanitarium Health Food Company.
He has been removed from the company’s social media accounts, but the partnership has not been terminated just yet. They are monitoring the situation and are waiting for the facts to be confirmed.
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