HollyMatkinOrlando, FL – Retired NBA star Ray Allen filed an emergency motion in Orange County on Tuesday, asking the court to dismiss a stalking case that was filed against him the prior day.
Allen told the court he’d been “catfished.”
The allegations of stalking were made on Monday by Bryant Coleman, who told the court he met Allen online, ESPN reported.
Allen’s motion disputed Coleman’s claims, and he argued that Coleman has actually been the one stalking him.
“Catfishing” is a term used to describe a situation where one person misleads another by creating a false social media profile and pretends to be someone else.
“Coleman pretended to be a number of attractive women interested in Ray Allen,” Allen’s motion read. “Ray believed he was speaking with these women and communicated with them.”
Allen’s motion said he and Coleman reached an agreement after Coleman threatened to publicize details of their conversations, but that Coleman continued to harass him through social media by “cyber-stalking” him.
“He posted about Ray’s wife, Ray’s children, Ray’s dog, Ray’s homes, Ray’s wife’s restaurant, and numerous other personal items,” the motion read. “Coleman not only posted about these things, he would actually post while physically located inside Ray’s wife’s restaurant in Orlando. And he would make sure they knew it, tagging Ray and his wife on those posts.”
Allen’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said Allen filed the motion in order to stop Coleman from threatening him and his family, the New York Post reported.
Markus called Allen a victim “of an online scheme to extract money and embarrass him by someone who appears to be troubled.”
“Ray regrets ever engaging with this person online and is thankful they never met in person,” Markus said. “This experience has negatively impacted Ray, and he hopes that others might use his mistake to learn the dangers of communicating online with strangers.”
Allen is a 10-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, and won championships with Boston in 2008 and Miami in 2013. He also played for Milwaukee and Seattle, ESPN reported.
Allen retired from basketball in 2014.
Do you feel less sorry for Allen knowing that he was married and trying to talk to women online? We’d like to hear what you think. Please let us know in the comments.