Miami police investigating sexual assault allegations against Conor McGregor after Heat game

Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating allegations from a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by former Ultimate Fighting Champion Conor McGregor in a bathroom at the Kaseya Center after last Friday’s NBA Finals game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

The accuser’s identity is unknown to the public at this time. Her Miami attorney, Ariel Mitchell, declined Friday to share her client’s age, but said she is a Florida resident who has a “professional, serious job.”

The woman alleges the assault took place in a men’s bathroom at Kaseya Center around midnight — shortly after Game 4 ended last Friday, June 9. Mitchell described the allegations in three separate demand letters dated June 12 that were addressed to McGregor, the NBA and The Heat Group.

According to the letters, McGregor isolated the woman in the men’s VIP bathroom. He then “shoved his tongue in the victim’s mouth and aggressively kissed her,” the letters allege, and forced her to perform oral sex. As she tried to leave the bathroom, the letters say, “Mr. McGregor aggressively grabbed her, pinned her up against the wall and then ripped the elastic waist band of her pants while pulling them down.” After elbowing him repeatedly, the woman managed to escape, the letters allege.

Video obtained by TMZ shows McGregor leading the alleged victim into the bathroom. The footage shows McGregor in a crowded area with music playing and people shouting. Someone cries “Oh, my God” as McGregor leads a woman, whose face is blurred, to the bathroom.

Mitchell provided the Miami Herald a photo of clothing that she says her client was wearing on the night of the Heat game that may contain “Mr. McGregor’s bodily fluids.” She said her client provided the clothing to police.

Mitchell wrote in the letters that McGregor was “aided and abetted by the NBA and Miami Heat Kaseya security,” because a security guard at the arena refused to let the accuser exit the bathroom, or to let her friend enter the bathroom. Mitchell told the Herald that the woman previously knew the security guard, which is why she believes he is employed by the arena or the Heat, and not McGregor. Mitchell said the security guard had been “assigned” to McGregor for the evening.

A spokeswoman for the Heat did not respond to the Herald’s questions about whether or not an employee was involved in the matter, or if it would be typical for security personnel to be assigned to someone with celebrity status like McGregor.

“We are aware of the allegations and are conducting a full investigation,” the Miami Heat said in a statement Thursday. “Pending the outcome of the investigation, we will withhold further comment.”

In the three demand letters sent on June 12, Mitchell provided a 7 p.m. deadline that same day to “discuss an acceptable resolution” and settle in lieu of litigation. She told the Herald Friday that she is also open to criminal prosecution against McGregor.

“Of course we’re going to pursue all legal avenues, criminal and civil,” Mitchell said. “No stone will be left unturned.”

A lawyer for McGregor provided a written statement on Friday.

“Mr. McGregor welcomes the investigation, which he firmly believes will show the claims against him are false,” said attorney Barbara Llanes. “After not responding to the demand for money made by claimant’s counsel, she turned to the media to apply pressure. This is no more than a shakedown.”

McGregor is a world-famous mixed martial arts fighter who is originally from Ireland. He won the UFC title in 2015 and 2016, becoming the first fighter to hold UFC title belts in different weight classes, according to the UFC website.

Hours before the alleged sexual assault occurred, McGregor sent the man inside the “Burnie” mascot costume to the hospital when he punched the mascot twice during a skit to promote McGregor’s pain relief product. The man was later released last Friday evening.

Disputes over timeline

Police said they are investigating an incident report filed Sunday, June 11. But Mitchell said when her client attempted to file a report with police on Sunday, she was told to return when she has an attorney, because allegations against a celebrity of McGregor’s caliber will “go viral” within 20 minutes. Mitchell said she then returned along with her client on Wednesday, June 14, to file a report.

The Miami Police Department did not respond directly to questions about whether or not the woman was told to return to the station when she has a lawyer, or if she and her lawyer returned on Wednesday. But they reiterated in a statement on Friday that the Special Victims Unit is “investigating a report that was filed Sunday, June 11, 2023.”

“Tell the attorney to give you the case number,” a police spokesman said. “The beginning of the case number indicates when the report was written.”

Mitchell provided the case number, which begins with the numbers 230611 — indicating a June 11 report date.

“The police are trying to cover themselves from sending her away,” Mitchell said in an email. “There was no report until Wednesday when we came together because they did not take it on Sunday.”

Mitchell said Uber receipts show that her client was at the police station for about 45 minutes on Sunday. “When we reported the crime to the police we were there 3 1/2 hours on Wednesday,” she said.

McGregor has been accused of sexual assault overseas, but has not faced any punishment, the Herald previously reported. In 2021, a woman sued McGregor in Ireland for allegedly raping her at a hotel penthouse three years earlier, The New York Times reported.

He was also arrested in March 2019 in Miami Beach after police said he smashed a fan’s phone outside the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel. Those charges were later reduced and a civil suit was ultimately dropped, the Herald previously reported.

Miami Herald writer Chuck Rabin contributed to this report.