Former NBA superstar Ray Allen has become embroiled in an out-of-the-ordinary legal skirmish that involves another man claiming he has been in an romantic relationship with Allen.
Allen and a man named Bryant Coleman have made claims in Orange County, Fla., that the other one is stalking them. Coleman claims he has been in a gay relationship with Allen, and Allen claims Coleman presented himself as a woman online and is now harassing him and his family. Allen has filed an emergency motion with the court, according to the Associated Press, to stop Coleman’s alleged harassment.
"Ray regrets ever engaging with this person online and is thankful they never met in person," Allen’s attorney David Oscar Markus told the Associated Press. "This experience has negatively impacted Ray, and he hopes that others might use his mistake to learn the dangers of communicating online with strangers."
Coleman is standing by his claims that he was in a gay relationship with Allen, despite that the two men never met. Allen says it is a “complete fabrication.”
Whatever the truth is, it is unfortunate that the private lives of these people is now being played out in the media. Allen is married to a woman and has a family. Whatever the truth, Allen’s engagement with this person that is now exploding on the public scene is no doubt a source of pain for so many involved.
The whole contention is akin to the scenario surrounding then-NFL-prospect Manti Te’o. In 2013 the Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker was involved in a telephone relationship with a man whom Te’o claims he thought was a woman.
The entire episode, just as with Te’o, is a no-win situation for everyone.
