Oakland Raiders’ cornerback Gareon Conley is firing back at his accuser. Weeks before he was drafted in 2017, Conley was accused of raping a woman but has since cleared of any wrongdoing by a Grand Jury in Cleveland, Ohio.
The former first rounder is seeking a payout for defamation. Although the legal battle didn’t prevent him from getting drafted, Conley believes it was enough to drive away corporate sponsorship. The court documents speak directly of a coveted Nike contract he had to pass up on.
The lawsuit also serves as an opportunity for Gareon to save face. If you were to compare and contrast rookie contracts from the class of 2017, his college teammate Marshon Lattimore who went 11th overall to the Saints nabbed a four-year deal worth $15.36 million, at least 5 points higher than Gareon’s $10.467 million deal.
Conley believes his accuser lied out of spite, because he’d rejected her advances. Video footage from the incident very much accounted for Gareon, his accuser, and her friends leaving a Cleveland club at 2:30am, he was first to admit. On the grounds of his denial, Gareon is pushing for a "malicious criminal prosecution," so he can recover the funds he would have gained, had it not been for his legal issues. Conley is expected to earn a starting berth for the Oakland Raiders, in his 2nd NFL season.
