The already-stunning rape case against former NFL player Darren Sharper took a surprising turn when a codefendant implicated current Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush as a participant in drugging women - and then almost immediately backpedaled.
The New Orleans Advocate reported that ex-deputy Brandon Licciardi told investigators that he had seen Bush, a former teammate of Sharper's with the New Orleans Saints, putting the drug Ecstasy in the VIP area of a Las Vegas dance venue.
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"OK, um, I was in Vegas about three years ago and um, Reggie Bush put Molly in Champagne. He was handing out Molly on the dance floor to girls. Handing it out. Like giving it to them," Licciardi said.
James O'Hern, an investigator for the District Attorney's Office, followed up with the question, "And how do you know that?"
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"'Cause I saw it with my own eyes," Licciardi said.
The Advocate added that "Molly" is the slang term for MDMA, the active ingredient in Ecstasy. It said that the "three years ago" referred to spring of 2011, just before the Saints traded Bush to the Miami Dolphins.
However, later in the same interview, Licciardi contradicted himself.
"Reggie, yeah. No, I didn't see him put it in the drink. He told me. And he said he was handing it to people, in Vegas," Licciardi said, adding, "He asked me if I wanted some. And I was like, 'I don't do that stuff.'"
Predictably, Bush's attorney was quick to deny and denounce the allegations Licciardi made in the Louisiana courtroom.
"This is outrageous," Bush's California-based attorney Shawn Holley told the Detroit Free Press. "I can say to you on the record that Reggie adamantly, vehemently and unequivocally denies all of the statements in that article. We are demanding a retraction from The Advocate and Reggie is considering taking legal action."
Sharper is under investigation for the alleged rapes of nine women in five states - two in Los Angeles, two in Tempe, Ariz., two in Las Vegas, two in New Orleans and one in Miami Beach, Fla., USA TODAY reported.
"There is no investigation; there's never been any complaint made by any person of this happening," Holley told the paper. "It appears to be something that's being stated by someone who is a criminal defendant in a serious case and looking for anything he can say to deflect from his own troubles. But there is not a shred of truth to any of this."
Do you think Reggie Bush has a case against the New Orleans Advocate for reporting what Darren Sharper's co-defendant told Louisiana authorities? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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