Nets’ Andray Blatche questioned by Philly police as potential witness in alleged sexual assault

A member of the Brooklyn Nets has been questioned by Philadelphia police in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault reported to have taken place at a Philadelphia hotel in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. A police source saying the player appears to be a prospective witness to the incident rather than a suspect; according to a tweet he posted early Tuesday afternoon, it appears that the as-yet-officially-unnamed player is reserve forward/center Andray Blatche.

On Tuesday morning, CBS Philadelphia reported that "a member of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and his associates" had been questioned in connection with a complaint filed by a 21-year-old female who said she had been sexually assaulted at about 4 a.m. Tuesday inside the Four Seasons Hotel, where the Nets stayed ahead of their Tuesday night matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers:

The female complainant was taken to an area hospital for an examination. Investigators are waiting to further question the woman before any decision will be made on potential charges. As of right now, no charges have been filed.

Sources say the unnamed player and his associates were taken to the Special Victims Unit for questioning.

Shortly thereafter, NBC Philadelphia reported that police had said the unnamed player "was in the hotel suite at the time of the alleged incident but was not in the bedroom where it may have occurred," and that the player and two other men, ages 41 and 25, had been taken into custody for questioning.

The Philadelphia Daily News reported that a Nets player was "among those police have questioned, but a police source said he appears to be a potential witness and not a suspect."

After the local news networks broke the story, Nets general manager Billy King issued a brief statement, shared by Tom Lorenzo of NetsDaily:

We are aware of the ongoing police investigation regarding a member of the Brooklyn Nets. We will have no further comment until the investigation has concluded. All of our players are available for tonight's game.

Despite the no-comment, local television reporters dug for additional details at the Nets' morning shootaround, pressing Brooklyn players like point guard Deron Williams, according to Newsday's Rod Boone:

TV reporter to Deron: "You don't want to talk about what happened last night?" Him: "I don't know much of anything that happened last night"

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) January 8, 2013

Same TV reporter: "Deron, how did the Philadelphia police treat you?" Radio silence. Then Deron's response with a smile: "You're a tool."

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) January 8, 2013

After shootaround, Nets beat writer Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News cited a source who told him that Blatche was the Net questioned. Just two minutes prior, Blatche had posted the following tweet, appearing to out himself:

Im ok and I didn't do anything jus was n the area when it happened

— andray blatche (@drayblatche) January 8, 2013

Again: At this time, neither Blatche nor any other Nets player has been identified as a suspect in the alleged sexual assault. We'll have more on this story as it develops.