Former No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson, Kansas star accused of rape, orchestrating robbery in lawsuit

Josh Jackson, the Kansas product who was selected fourth in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, has been accused of raping a woman in New York last year and then sending two women to her apartment in an apparent robbery attempt according to a lawsuit, The Kansas City Star is reporting. The woman, listed as Jane Doe after a judge allowed her to maintain her anonymity, is accusing Jackson of assault and battery and is seeking damages from the women who broke into her apartment. Jackson “emphatically denies” the allegations, according to his attorney, John Lauro.

According to the lawsuit, the woman said she met Jackson in New York on Feb. 13, 2022, at a Super Bowl afterparty to which she was initially invited by another NBA player, Andre Drummond. After Jackson and other partygoers helped her find her lost phone, they went to two nightclubs before she went home. Eventually, Jackson texted her asking her to “come through,” allegedly offering her $1,500 to do so. She says she declined that money, but met Jackson at his room at the New York Edition, a hotel in Manhattan. She claimed she was not there for sex and assumed other people would be there.

The woman said she was tired and laid down on a bed to sleep, but claimed that she was awoken by Jackson sexually assaulting her before eventually “passing out from the trauma, confusion and horror of the rape.” She would later wake up, run out of the room and buy a contraception pill, but later that morning, she received “threatening texts” from a man accusing her of stealing Jackson’s watch. She is also suing that man. She also received messages from a different number from someone claiming to know her address.

Later, two women, who her lawyer identified as sisters, broke into her apartment and entered her bedroom. One appeared to be holding a gun, and they threatened her “with murder” according to her attorney. After shouting for help, doormen tackled the sisters and the New York police officers arrived to arrest them. The woman claims that Jackson “orchestrated” the incident. Both the rape and the armed robbery have been reported to the NYPD.

Jackson has dealt with legal troubles throughout his brief NBA career. In 2017, he was charged with misdemeanor property damage after allegedly vandalizing the car of McKenzie Calvert, a Kansas University women’s basketball player. In 2019, he was arrested for resisting an officer at a musical festival in Florida, and he was accused of using marijuana near his infant daughter in Maricopa County, Arizona. Jackson last played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings to close out the 2021-22 season. He signed with their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, in January, 2023, but was waived four days later. He is not currently signed with any NBA or G-League team. Jackson’s one season in college was with the 2016-17 Kansas Jayhawks (31-5) who reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.