Less than 12 hours after former UFC champion Conor McGregor yet again announced his retirement from MMA via Twitter, the New York Times published a report saying that the Irishman is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in December.
While Irish media had extensively reported on an “Irish sports star” being accused of the crime, McGregor was never named due to local law prohibiting news outlets from identifying individuals charged with rape unless they are convicted.
McGregor’s spokesperson, Karen Kessler, released the following statement on Thursday categorically denying that Conor’s statement was related to the subsequent NYT report.
“This story has been circulating for some time and it is unclear why it is being reported now.
“The assumption that the Conor retirement announcement today is related to this rumor is absolutely false.
“Should Conor fight in the future it must be in an environment where fighters are respected for their value, their skill, their hard work and their dedication to the sport.”
Prior to his retirement tweet, the 30-year-old McGregor had once again demanded “rightful shares in the company” when the topic of possibly fighting in a pay-per-view co-main event was brought up. There had been talks of McGregor potentially taking on Donald Cerrone in July, but Cerrone is now set to face Al Iaquinta on May 4th.
McGregor has a pending court date on April 10th after allegedly smashing a man’s phone in an altercation at a Miami nightclub earlier this month. He is currently out on bail and charged with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief.
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