Odell Beckham Jr. Releases Statement Denying Allegations After Being Named in Lawsuit

Three days after Odell Beckham Jr.'s name appeared in an amended court filing accusing him of taking part in a gang rape led by musician Sean "Diddy" Combs, the free-agent wide receiver has denied the allegations against him.
"I have been informed of the allegations about me in a suit in [California]. I really can't even believe that my name is mentioned in that matter," Beckham said in a Monday statement. "There is absolutely no truth to those allegations. I do not know and have never met the person that filed the suit."
Beckham additionally denied ever having been to Orinda, Calif.—the site of the alleged assault.
On Friday, an amendment to lawsuit originally filed by plaintiff Ashley Parham in October accused Beckham and Drew Desbordes—the comedian Druski—of gang-raping her with Combs in 2018 (Desbordes, who insisted that he "wasn't a public figure in" '18, has also denied allegations against him). Beckham, who most recently played for the Miami Dolphins, was a member of the New York Giants at the time.
Combs, 55, is awaiting criminal trial on three federal counts of forcible sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for purposes of prostitution; that trial is scheduled to begin May 5.
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Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .