Conor McGregor, Miami Heat Sued Over Alleged Sexual Assault at 2023 NBA Finals

Two months after a Dublin civil jury found Conor McGregor liable for sexually assaulting a woman, the fighter is facing more legal trouble.

An anonymous woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday night in Florida, saying McGregor sexually assaulted her at an NBA game in 2023. The Miami Heat, who were hosting a 2023 Finals game, are also named as defendants for overserving McGregor.

The incident first came to light days after the game, when the victim reported the incident to Miami police. That fall, the state attorney’s office announced it would not seek criminal charges in the case. 

The case was filed in the Southern District of Florida and also lists Basketball Properties LLC, which operates the Kaseya Center, as a defendant. She is seeking past and future medical treatment, compensatory damages that exceed $75,000, litigation costs, and other relief. 

The suit alleges that team and arena staff continued to supply the boxer with alcoholic beverages after he was clearly intoxicated. 

The lawsuit accuses McGregor of battery and the Kaseya Center of gross negligence, alleging its staff and security failed to make the arena a safe place by overserving McGregor alcohol.

“The special treatment of [McGregor] by allowing him to pour his own alcoholic drinks as well as the failure to cut [McGregor]’s access to alcoholic beverages off after he was overserved demonstrates a conscious disregard for the safety patrons similarly situated to and including [the plaintiff],” the lawsuit says.  

Some of the night in question was captured on video. McGregor was at the game to promote a pain relief spray and appeared in a halftime skit with the Heat’s mascot. In the skit, he and Burnie, the Heat’s mascot, circle each other, before McGregor punches Burnie in the head, sending him to the ground. While Burnie was on the ground, McGregor landed another punch on the mascot before he and others sprayed him with the promotional product. The person wearing the Burnie suit was later taken to a local hospital.

The arena staff were aware of Burnie’s injuries, the lawsuit alleges, and continued to bring him alcohol. (Photos from the game show McGregor with a drink in hand courtside.) When the game was over, the suit says, an acquaintance of the fighter’s grabbed the plaintiff’s wrist and led her away from the arena’s courtside club.

The plaintiff asked to be released, but McGregor’s associate said, “Conor will kill me if I lose you,” the complaint said. The plaintiff, Jane Doe, said in the complaint McGregor was “under the influence of intoxicants and out of control.” 

McGregor then appeared and led the plaintiff into an arena bathroom, where, the suit says, he “attempted to forcefully place his unprotected penis into Jane Doe’s mouth without her consent.” The woman tried to escape, but McGregor slammed her into the wall face first, the suit alleges, and put her in an arm lock. She was able to escape and then left the arena. 

McGregor previously said the woman’s claims were “nothing more than a shakedown.” 

James Dunn, the lawyer for the woman, told Front Office Sports that the burden of evidence was lower in Florida civil trials.

“After the Miami-Dade County Prosecutor’s office elected not to pursue criminal charges, a civil case is the only avenue that my client has to seek justice in this case,” Dunn wrote in an email. “My client has thought long and hard about the decision to pursue this civil case, and is fearful of the effect it may have on her job on Wall Street.” 

In July 2023, a month after the incident, the Heat reportedly dropped TIDL as a jersey sponsor for the upcoming season. 

“After a thorough investigation at the time, the State’s Attorney concluded that there was no case to pursue,” McGregor’s lawyer, Barbara Llanes, said in a statement to FOS. “Almost two years and at least three lawyers later the plaintiff has a new false story. We are confident that this case too will be dismissed.”

After the Irish civil verdict, McGregor was ordered to pay $264,000 in damages to Nikita Hand and was dropped by alcohol and grocery sponsors. 

McGregor is one of the most famous and profitable UFC fighters in history, but he hasn’t fought in the Octagon since 2021, when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. In December, he tweeted that he agreed to an exhibition boxing match in India against Logan Paul, but no date has been formally announced. 

The Heat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.