Damian Lillard on Chauncey Billups’ rape allegations in 1997

[ad_1]

Chauncey Billups ‘tenure as the Portland Trail Blazers’ new head coach hasn’t really started on a high note. As soon as it was officially announced, Billups and the Blazers came under fire for their new partnership, with the former 1997 NBA champion’s rape allegations unearthed by more than a few critics.

For his part, Blazers superstar Damian Lillard admitted earlier that he was unaware of Billups’ sexual harassment accusations over two decades ago. Now that he’s fully aware of the situation, Lillard explained how this issue impacted Portland’s decision to involve Billups:

“I was asked about the names that had been launched there. i said i like [Jason] Kidd, I love Chauncey. At that time, I had no idea, ”Lillard said, via the New York Daily News. “When I learned this and the process continued, I never felt like it was my job or my duty to say ‘do this or don’t do that’. I do my job, I improve my game and I present myself as the leader of the team. In the past, I have never stepped on anyone’s feet, asked for anything, or told anyone what to do and it was no different in this situation. That’s all I can really say.

I knew Chauncey before and never knew it until this coaching process kicked in. Our organization said it did a thorough investigation and went through everything when it started the coaching process. hiring a trainer, which she did in a comfortable way.

Damian Lillard is basically washing his hands here saying he had very little involvement in the Blazers hiring process. To be fair, this is a truly controversial and polarizing question, so it’s no surprise that Lillard has decided to distance himself from the same thing. Then again, it would be very surprising if the Blazers All-Star point guard was not heavily involved in the decision to involve Billups.

For what it’s worth, the Billups rape case in 1997 was settled out of court. Nothing has been proven and he maintains his innocence to this day.

[ad_2]