Reggie Bush Calls Report He Drugged Women 'False,' Threatens Legal Action

After hearing his name implicated in the case against former NFL safety Darren Sharper, Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush denied that he had any involvement in supplying women with illegal drugs.

Bush issued an impassioned defense on Twitter:

Bush continued his counter-argument on Instagram Saturday, posting a photo of the Advocate article with the following caption:

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You see this is the issue with today's media. The Advocate published the above allegation even though it had no reliable information to support it. Instead, it relied on the say-so of Licciardi, a criminal defendant who was plainly trying to curry favor with the prosecutors to get a more lenient sentence. Not only were Licciardi’s motivations in leveling the charge suspect, to say the least, but Licciardi, as The Advocate acknowledges halfway into the article, contradicted himself in the very same interview with investigators from the District Attorney’s Office. Specifically, after claiming—and confirming—that he had seen Mr. Bush "handing out drugs on the dance floor to girls” with “his own eyes,” Licciardi immediately backtracked. Now, he had not seen, but heard from Mr. Bush that Mr. Bush was handing out champagne with drugs in it. Such glaring inconsistencies should have served as a red flag cautioning against publication of these allegations. Evidently, they were not. Worse yet, Licciardi’s hedging does not come through in the headline! Instead, the reader must wade through 365 words to find Licciardi’s contradicting statements! And in this day and age most people have already made their judgment front the title alone! The inescapable conclusion is that The Advocate saw an opportunity to lure its readers into "juicy gossip" and prizes page views over accuracy! One thing we do know is that my reputation has been severely damaged by the Headline of this story and false allegations in the article, particularly in a year in which reports of violence by football players, both physical and sexual, have dominated the headlines. So I ask the question who holds the media responsible when they publish false stories about athletes and entertainers?

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Bush's statement comes after a report by John Simerman and Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in which Brandon Licciardi, a former sheriff's deputy in St. Bernard Parish, alleged Bush gave women drugs at a club in Las Vegas in 2011:

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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.

"And how do you know that?" asked James O’Hern, an investigator for the DA's Office.

"Cause I saw it with my own eyes," Licciardi responded.

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"This is outrageous," said Bush's attorney, Shawn Holley, per Dave Birkett of 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 and Bush were teammates with the New Orleans Saints in 2009 and 2010.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

A New Orleans grand jury indicted Sharper on charges of aggravated rape in December 2014. Licciardi was also charged as an accomplice for his alleged role in the affair. According to Helen Freund of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Licciardi pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of human trafficking, rape and battery.

Holley feels Licciardi's claims are completely baseless.

"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," he said, per Birkett. "But there is not a shred of truth to any of this."

Birkett said the Lions had no comment at this time about the issue.