Yasiel Puig sued for sexual assault at 2018 Lakers game

Julie DiCaro|published: Thu 29th October, 19:03 2020

Yasiel Puig at a January 2018 Lakers game at the Staples Center. Puig has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the bathroom during a game later that year. credits: | source: Getty Images

News broke late Thursday afternoon that free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig is being sued for sexual assault.

The accuser, using the name Jane Roe to protect her anonymity, says the incident took place at a Lakers game at LA’s Staples Center on October 31, 2018, when LA took on the Dallas Mavericks. Pictures show Puig sitting courtside at that game.

The lawsuit alleges she was heading to use the restroom when:

“[She] was forced into a bathroom and Yasiel Puig grabbed at her trying to take her clothes off, touched her sexual organs during this struggle, and eventually pinned her with 1 arm and used his other to stroke his own penis, exposing himself, and eventually ejaculating.”

The civil lawsuit seeks damages for sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. While the total amount sought by the lawsuit is not know, it is more than $50,000, according to multiple reports.

Whether the woman went to the police back in 2018 is unclear, but it’s become increasingly common for victims to seek redress for sexual assault via civil lawsuits, particularly when law enforcement refuses to file charge against their attacker or when they’ve waited a significant period of time before coming forward with allegations, especially when a high-profile defendant is involved.