PHOENIX (AP) — Police are investigating sexual abuse and harassment accusations made against former University of Arizona and NBA player Mike Bibby, according to officials in the school district where he now works as a high school coach.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District issued a statement saying it was notified on Feb. 14 of the police investigation into claims against Bibby, now the head basketball coach at Shadow Mountain High School.
A Phoenix municipal court granted a restraining order to a Shadow Mountain teacher last Friday, The Arizona Republic reported . The teacher said Bibby groped her and rubbed against her after pulling her into his car on school grounds in February 2017, according to the document.
The teacher reported the allegations to the school’s resource officer on Feb. 13, according to the document.
Bibby referred questions to his attorney, Donald Harris.
“I can say with pretty much certainty this alleged incident didn’t happen and that will be shown down the road,” Harris said. “Michael Bibby did not participate in a sexual assault of any way, shape or form that was alleged by this lady two years ago.”
The Phoenix Police Department has confirmed it is investigating allegations involving staff at Shadow Mountain. Sgt. Vince Lewis, a police spokesman, did not name the people involved or describe the allegations.
The school district was conducting an internal investigation into the accusations when police launched a probe, district spokeswoman Becky Kelbaugh said in the statement.
“At the request of the Phoenix Police Department, the District’s internal investigation was suspended pending the conclusion of the Police Department’s active investigation into the accusations,” the statement read.
Bibby played on Shadow Mountain’s first state championship basketball team as a student in 1996. He went on to the University of Arizona, where he helped lead the Wildcats to their only national championship in 1997.
He was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies the next year. Bibby played in the NBA from 1998 to 2012, including stints with Vancouver, Sacramento and Atlanta.