The Sports Xchange

Ray McDonald’s defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him of rape has been dismissed, the woman’s attorney said Monday.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William Elfving made the ruling last week, according to The Associated Press.

McDonald had filed the lawsuit in March, three months after the woman accused him of sexual assault. McDonald has not been charged in the case, which remains under investigation.

Gloria Allred, the celebrity attorney representing the woman, said in a statement: “NFL players and other celebrities should now understand that suing persons for defamation who allege to law enforcement that they are victims of crime by NFL players or others will be a losing strategy for the celebrity.”

On Dec. 16, McDonald was named by the San Jose Police Department as a suspect in the alleged sexual assault at his house.

According to police, the accuser said she fell and hit her head on the ground near the pool at McDonald’s house and does not remember the sexual encounter. However, she alleges that home surveillance video shows that McDonald and his San Francisco 49ers teammate at the time, Ahmad Brooks, both molested her as she lay unconscious. McDonald claims they had a consensual sexual encounter in his hot tub.

The 49ers released McDonald in December, and the Chicago Bears signed him in March — but then released him last month after he was arrested on charges of domestic violence and child endangerment after an incident involving his ex-fiancee. McDonald had been arrested Aug. 31 in another incident involving the same woman. He has not been charged in either of those cases.