Fact Check: Has NBA officially banned Diddy from all league activities? Viral tweet debunked

Diddy at the 2nd Annual The Black Ball Quality Control’s CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas birthday celebration (Image via Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

On September 16, 2024, Sean Combs, aka Diddy, was arrested at Manhattan’s Park Hyatt Hotel. The rapper, who has been fighting the ongoing legal battle for months, was charged with “racketeering, s*x trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.”

Following his arrest, an X (formerly Twitter) account with the handle @TheNBACentel posted that the rapper would be banned from all NBA activities on September 17. Combs has often been pictured courtside attending NBA matches.

“BREAKING: The NBA has officially banned P. Diddy from all league activities. (Via @ChrisBHayne),” the post read.

The post received 760K views and 14K likes at the time of writing. This led many to believe that the NBA officially banned Diddy, also known as Puff Daddy or Puffy, from all future league activities.

However, this has been debunked as @TheNBACentel is not the official NBA X account. The bio mentions that it is a parody account and the source linked in the tweet has not been active since July 2022.

No major media publication has also covered the news, lending proof to the fact that the original tweet was nothing but a parody.

Diddy was denied bail on September 17

Diddy was denied bail during his arraignment hearing in a Manhattan court on September 17, 2024, after prosecutors claimed he was a “serious flight risk.” The 54-year-old rapper and Bad Boy Records founder was arrested on Monday on three charges that involved s*x trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution.

Combs pled not guilty on all three charges. The rapper faces 15 years to life if convicted of his charges. According to court documents, Diddy engaged in days-long “freak offs” which were described as:

“Elaborate and produced s*x performances that Combs arranged, directed, m*sturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”

The “freak offs” were reportedly so exhausting that Combs and the alleged victims had to receive IV fluids to recover from “the physical exertion and drug use.” Authorities found 1000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant when they raided his Miami and LA homes in March 2024.

The indictment claimed that the alleged ring was started around 2009, with Combs and his associates threatening victims with violence, abuse, kidnapping, and arson.

“When employees, witnesses to his abuse, or others threatened Combs’ authority or reputation, Combs and members and associates of [Combs] Enterprises engaged in acts of violence, threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse,” the document said.

Cassie Ventura also noted the “freak offs” when she sued the rapper in November 2023. Ventura, the rapper’s ex-girlfriend, said she had been forced to participate in them. The lawsuit, which accused Puffy of r**e and a decade-long pattern of abuse, was settled out of court a day after it was filed.

While Diddy denied all allegations at the time, a CCTV video of the rapper physically assaulting Ventura circulated on the news in May 2024. The video, dated 2016 at the InterContinental Hotel in LA, saw Combs kick, push and throw things at Ventura.

During the hearing, Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s lawyer, maintained his client’s innocence and vowed to fight for his freedom, planning to appeal the no-bail order during the hearing on September 18. The rapper is detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

Edited by Ameen Fatima