Ray McDonald Claims He's Going To Sue Woman Who Accused Him Of Rape

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald has told ESPN that he plans on filing a defamation lawsuit against the woman who accused him of raping her last year.

According to court documents that were made public last December, the accuser claims that she ended up at McDonald's house after feeling "dizzy and sick" while out at a bar with her friends. She claims that she then fell and hit her head on the ground next to McDonald's pool, and woke up naked in bed with McDonald the next morning with no memory of how she got there. According to court documents, McDonald originally told her that they did not have sex, but the next night he admitted that they did indeed have sex after she hit her head. From the documents:

She decided to ask him again what happened and he told her that they did have sex. She asked him why he was lying to her and he said that he didn't want to get accused of something crazy like rape. She stated that he had no recollection of having sex with S-1. She stated that she did not give S-1 consent to have sex with her.

McDonald was investigated by the San Jose police department but never charged with any crimes. The sexual assault accusation, along with previous accusations that McDonald had physically assaulted his pregnant fiancée, were enough to convince the 49ers to release him. He has yet to catch on with another team, and that seems to be the impetus behind the filing of this lawsuit. Here's how explained himself to ESPN:

"I feel like what I am doing is the right thing because I know that I am not this bad person that people are making me out to be," McDonald told ESPN on Monday. "I've been fired from my job. I know some teams don't even want to talk to me because of this past accusation. All I am trying to do is clear my name and move on with my life."

In a press release, McDonald's lawyer stated that the lawsuit is intended to "vindicate" his client and "restore his good name."

[ ESPN]