Statement by Adisa Bakari, Attorney/Agent for Maurice Drew, regarding Drew being charged with assault:

In light of the recent media reports about Maurice Drew 's alleged involvement in the incident that occurred at the Denny's restaurant in Westwood on the evening of April 23, 2006, we felt it necessary to clarify the following:

Maurice had no involvement in any altercation that took place at the Denny's restaurant that evening. He was only at the Denny's restaurant for a short period of time. Contrary to inaccurate media reports, he was not with Ricky Manning that evening -- they did not arrive at the Denny's together nor did they leave together. Maurice was not one of the two individuals in the vehicle with Manning when Manning and those individuals were reported to have been detained by police that evening.

Media reports that Maurice was arrested that evening are also false. He was not even interviewed or questioned by police that evening. Likewise, reports that he was arrested on Thursday, May 18, after being charged with assault were untrue. In fact, as soon as Maurice read the erroneous reports that he was in custody, he voluntarily appeared at the Los Angeles Police Department to answer the charge, posted the required bond, and was subsequently released approximately 45 minutes later.

The filing of the assault charge on Thursday was a complete surprise. No indication had been given that Maurice was considered a suspect in the investigation. In the month since the incident is alleged to have occurred, Maurice has never been interviewed or questioned by the police or the District Attorney's Office about this incident, nor have any of the individuals with him that evening. Had that occurred, we believe that the police would have determined that Maurice was not involved in any way, and this entire unfortunate situation would have been avoided.

Immediately upon learning of the assault charge, we undertook the necessary steps to uncover the truth about that evening. We have since retained the counsel of preeminent criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, Aaron Dyer, and an intensive investigation is being conducted into the events of April 23. "Even in the few hours we have had since learning of the assault charge, we have been able to conclusively establish that Maurice had no involvement. We will be cooperating with the police to share that information in order to ensure that justice is done," stated Dyer.

Maurice is not just an elite athlete; as his coaches, teammates and friends will attest, he is also a responsible person of the highest character. His reputation and family name are extremely important to him. We are confident that once this investigation is completed and he is cleared of all charges, they will be restored.