CLEVELAND -- Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley filed a countersuit earlier this week against a Macedonia woman who accused him of sexual assault in Cleveland prior to last year's NFL draft.
According to the suit, which was filed in Cuyahoga County on Monday, Conley is seeking at least $25,000 in damages and alleging that the woman's accusation was knowingly false and "undoubtedly made out of malice."
The countersuit claims that the timing and nature of the sexual assault allegation forced Conley, who was drafted No. 24 overall by the Raiders, to fall in the draft and resulted in the loss of multiple endorsement deals, including one with Nike.
A grand jury declined to charge Conley last July following a police investigation.
"The NFL draft was so close that NFL teams did not have sufficient time to investigate the matter and assure themselves of Conley's innocence, nor was there time for Conley to prevail in any criminal proceedings before the draft," the countersuit claims.
The woman told police in April 2017 that Conley invited her to his hotel room at The Westin in downtown Cleveland, later pulling down her pants and having sex with her despite her pleas to stop. In the countersuit filed Monday, Conley claims that the woman pulled down her pants, bent over in front of him and invited him to have sex with her. He claims that he refused and asked her to leave the room.
After the grand jury declined to file charges against Conley, the woman filed a civil lawsuit earlier this year against the 23-year-old cornerback, sports agency Vantage Management Group and the Westin Hotel.
Attorneys for Conley and the woman did not immediately respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. USA TODAY Sports does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
