Ray Allen tells Orlando court he was catfished

Retired NBA star Ray Allen filed a motion in a Florida court on Tuesday claiming to be the victim of a ‘catfishing’ scheme in which one man pretended to be several beautiful women interested in dating the 10-time All-Star.

Bryant Coleman, the man Allen accused of catfishing, previously told the court that he is being stalked online by Allen, a married father of five. Allen’s motion on Tuesday was a request to throw out that case.

‘Coleman pretended to be a number of attractive women interested in Ray Allen,’ read the motion filed on Allen’s behalf. ‘Ray believed he was speaking with these women and communicated with them.’

Attorney David Oscar Markus released a statement saying Allen took legal action in an effort to put an end to threats against him and his family, and that Allen was the victim ‘of an online scheme to extract money and embarrass him by someone who appears to be troubled.’

According to the filing, Allen and Coleman ‘never met in person’ and when Allen ‘realized he was the victim of an impersonation, he terminated these communications.’ 

‘Subsequently, the Plaintiff threatened to publicly reveal private information about Ray that he obtained during the period when Ray thought he was communicating with various women,’ the filing read. 

Allen claimed the sides eventually struck a deal to keep everything private. However, Allen’s filing goes on to assert that Coleman violated that agreement by continuing to harass Allen and his family through several social-media accounts.

According to Allen’s filing, ‘Coleman pretended to be a number of attractive women interested in [him]. Ray believed he was speaking with these women and communicated with them’

‘He posted about Ray’s wife, Ray’s children, Ray’s dog, Ray’s homes, Ray’s wife’s restaurant, and numerous other personal items,’ read the motion. ‘Coleman not only posted about these things, he would actually post while physically located inside Ray’s wife’s restaurant in Orlando. And he would make sure they knew it, tagging Ray and his wife on those posts.’ 

Ray Allen won his first NBA title as a member of the Boston Celtics in 2008

Allen asked the court to stop Coleman from ‘cyber-stalking.’ It was not clear if Coleman has an attorney, and a working phone number for him could not be found.

‘Ray regrets ever engaging with this person online and is thankful they never met in person,’ Markus said. ‘This experience has negatively impacted Ray, and he hopes that others might use his mistake to learn the dangers of communicating online with strangers.  

Allen is the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made. He won championships with Boston in 2008 and Miami in 2013, the second title coming after he made one of the most dramatic shots in playoff history — a game-tying 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation of Game 6 of The Finals against San Antonio, a game that the Heat would win in overtime to extend the series to a seventh game.

Allen also played for Milwaukee and Seattle, and last appeared in the league in 2014. He and his family have lived in the Miami area since.

The University of Connecticut product married singer-actress Shannon Walker Williams began dating in 2004 and were married in 2008. They have five children together.

Allen went on to win another title with LeBron James (right) and the Miami Heat in 2013

Ray Allen and his wife Shannon Allen attend Haute Living Haute 100 Dinner presented by Dom Perignon at Tamarina at Brickell World Plaza on May 6, 2015 in Miami, Florida