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JAY-Z‘s long-standing relationship with the NFL is currently unaffected in the wake of the sexual assault lawsuit against him, so says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Goodell made a statement following the league’s winter meetings on Wednesday (December 11), affirming Hov and Roc Nation will continue to oversee the annual halftime show, as well as the NFL’s social justice initiatives.
“We’re aware of the civil allegations and JAY-Z’s really strong response to that,” Goodell said. “We know the litigation is happening now so from our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparations for the next Super Bowl.”
“I think they’re getting incredibly comfortable with not just the Super Bowl but other events they’ve advised us on and helped us with,” he added. “They’ve been a big help in the social justice area to us on many occasions. They’ve been great partners.”
In a lawsuit filed by high-profile lawyer Tony Buzbee on behalf of an anonymous client, Hov is accused of sexually assaulting the teenager at an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
The lawsuit was originally filed in October with Diddy as a defendant and JAY-Z referred to anonymously as “Celebrity A.”
The suit was refiled on Sunday (December 8) and named Jay (born Shawn Carter) as a defendant, according to court documents viewed by HipHopDX.
The alleged victim claims that she was invited to an afterparty by one of Diddy’s drivers after being told she “fit what Diddy was looking for.”
After being dropped off at “a large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway,” the girl was allegedly given a drink that soon made her “feel woozy and lightheaded, making her need to lie down.”
She claims that she found an empty bedroom to lie down in and later awoke to Diddy and JAY-Z entering the room along with an unnamed female celebrity.
JAY-Z then allegedly removed her clothes and held her down as he raped her while Diddy and the unidentified woman watched.
The suit claims that Diddy then raped the girl as Jay and the woman watched.
The girl eventually managed to escape by “hitting [Diddy] in the neck” when he tried to force her to perform oral sex on him, fleeing the party and reaching a nearby gas station where she was picked up by her father, according to the filing.
In a rare public statement issued by Roc Nation, JAY-Z blasted the allegations as well as Buzbee, who he called a “fraud” and claimed had tried to “blackmail” him.
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” the rap legend wrote.
“These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
The statement also mentioned the impact that the lawsuit would have on Jay’s notoriously private family life: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence.”
Hov further slammed Buzbee’s legal conduct by saying: “My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.”
