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Moss denies accusation he struck woman friend

07:45 AM EST on Thursday, January 17, 2008

By ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO - Randy Moss' friend of at least a decade, Rachelle Washington, has filed a restraining order against him in Florida for "protection against dating violence."

Moss yesterday denied any wrongdoing, said that her claim was false, and stressed that Washington was trying to extort money from him

"I want to make something clear, in my whole entire life of living, 30 years, I've never put my hand on one woman, physically or in an angry manner," Moss said. "So this battery that they're talking about, I guess from a legal standpoint, there has to be something said."

"I don't really know all the facts," Moss continued. "I really don't know all that's going on as far as everything, being alleged; all I know is that it's a friend of mine, a young lady, and that it was an accident when she hurt herself, and to where they called me, called my attorneys, trying to get X amount of dollars out of me and if 'we don't give X amount of dollars,' they were going to go to the press before this game."

In a copy of a court document filed with the clerks of the courts, Broward County 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida which was filed on Monday; in the column marked for incident date, it reads "N/A," as in, not available.

In the column that is marked for key dates, it states that, "There is no key date information available for this case."

In the column that is marked for related dates, it states that, "There is no related case information available for this case."

According to a report from WDBO-580, which broke the story, the affidavit states that Moss "committed a battery upon the victim, causing serious injury and then refusing to allow her to seek medical attention."

The restraining order states that Moss cannot come within 500 feet of Washington and that he cannot use or possess firearms. On the page of the affidavit that is posted on WDB0-580's Web site, the only thing it states is Moss' physical attributes, his height, weight, eye color, race, and that he lives in Boston but there is no specific address.

No criminal charges have been brought against Moss.

"For someone to make a false claim about me, I'm kind of furious," Moss said. "It kind of hurts me deep inside for someone to do something like that because you know I've always said time and time again, 'I'm going to stand up for what's right.' If I'm right, I'm right. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and that's why you have your attorneys and your friends. When you're wrong, somebody can tell you you're wrong.

"My situation is where I felt that I did nothing wrong. It was an accident. Whatever happened, it was an accident. I wish I could sit here and tell ya'll really what happened but there is a lawsuit or whatever coming against me. I can't really explain or tell ya'll what's going on. All I want to say is, I'm going to continue to play football. I think that, last Friday this [woman] wanted to come out with it just to try to distract the team and distract me."

Coach Bill Belichick told The Boston Globe: "I spoke with and I support Randy 100 percent.''

Moss said that he wants to clear his name as soon as possible. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 28.

As for Washington saying that Moss denied her medical attention, Moss said, "She lives in her own house and she has her own people so how can I deny her medical attention. Does that make sense? I mean, she has her own house. She has her own car, so how am I going to deny someone medical attention when you live by yourself and have your own vehicle."

Moss said that Washington was just trying to extort money from him.

"All I want to say is that they are false allegations," Moss said. "It's something I've been battling for the last couple days, threats of going public if I didn't pay X amount of dollars. Before people rush quick to judgment, I think you need to find out the facts about really what is really going on. This young lady, by no means, is hurt. I didn't hurt her."

How much does Washington want?

"Over an accident, six-figures," said Moss, who added that he could not divulge any more information as to what really happened because of a potential lawsuit.

"I don't want to get in trouble for anything I might say that I'm not supposed to say when it comes to an attorney and a client," Moss said. "There are a lot of things that I want to sit here and tell you guys to prove my innocence, but for the fact that there is an investigation going on, [I can't.]"

Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. The Broward Sherriff's Office said it had little information on the incident.

"We really don't have anything on it," said Jim Leljedal, a member of the Broward Sheriff's Office media relations department. "I understand that a woman filed a temporary restraining order but we don't have it. We wouldn't be able to serve it because he is not here. Her attorney would have to work with the people in Massachusetts to serve it to him."

Two teammates voiced support for Moss.

"I don't know the situation," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "He's a teammate of mine so by me saying he's a teammate of mine, it's almost me saying he's a family member."

"I don't think any of that situation is going to be on the field for us on Sunday so it doesn't bother me," running back Kevin Faulk said. "He's our teammate, He's like a brother."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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