Former SU basketball player set to testify in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial
Former SU men's basketball player Brendan Paul (right), No. 12, pictured during a game for the Orange. Paul, who played as a walk-on across two seasons for the Orange, is accused of working as a drug “mule” for rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. Jordan Phelps | Daily Orange File Photo
Former Syracuse University men’s basketball player Brendan Paul is set to testify in the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial Wednesday, the Washington Post reported.
Paul, who played two seasons as a walk-on for the Orange, is one of the prosecution’s final witnesses in the case. He was named in the initial lawsuit against Combs weeks before he was arrested on drug charges in March 2024.
The former basketball player was charged with two felonies for possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance, which have since been dropped.
In the lawsuit, Paul was described as a “mule” who acquired and distributed guns and drugs for Combs, syracuse.com reported.
The lawsuit mentions Paul’s name 19 times, and states the former basketball player “aided and abetted” in Combs and his alleged sex trafficking. Paul paid sex workers in cash, financially benefitting from the trafficking, the lawsuit states.
Combs is accused of forcing ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura into hundreds of sexual acts with male escorts while drugged, The New York Times reported. Ventura testified that Combs filmed everything before blackmailing her with the videos. She also said Combs violently beat her throughout their 11-year relationship.
Paul will not be prosecuted for his testimony as part of the same no-jail plea deal that saw his charges dropped, NBC News reported.
