Lebron James is in the news tonight, after announcing that he will join re-signed star Dwyane Wade and free agent star Chris Bosch playing for the Miami Heat. James could have made more money staying in Cleveland, or playing in New York, New Jersey or Chicago but it seems as though the lure of having some teammates who can help him win a championship was just too good to pass up.
There is another story about Lebron in the news today too, and it's too bizarre to believe. A Washington D.C. lawyer is suing LeBron, claiming to be his father. No, I'm not making that up. The lawyer, Leicester Stovell, is claiming to have had sex one time with LeBron's mother, Gloria James, after meeting her in a bar in 1984 and that somehow that entitles him to $4 million.
Washington (CNN) -- A Washington lawyer has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming he is the father of basketball star LeBron James.
Leicester Stovell alleges that the athlete and his family have been involved in a cover-up to deny paternity by committing fraud and misrepresentation. He told HLN's "Prime News" on Thursday that he wants "a carefully structured and secure DNA test" to prove he's the NBA all-star's father.
Stovell says he has been trying for three years to establish paternity and is seeking $4 million in damages. An earlier test ruled out the possibility, but he said the test could have been tampered with -- "and there are indications that there was a motivation."
Oh, and just in case you figured the suit itself wasn't already a record for having an unmitigated case of chutzpah, consider he also, after allegedly learning that Gloria James was pregnant added this touching reminder:
Stovell said his only request was that the child, if a boy, play basketball.
Awww, how much this is pulling at the heartstrings....
Stovell then goes on:
He said his memory of the encounter resurfaced more than 20 years later, "after being asked whether I had a son, and I then systematically explored all of my past for that possibility."
I guess he'd have to say that to explain how come he never thought about it during the intervening twenty years. You know, the twenty years during which a kid growing up without a father might have found one worth having around. In fact, it appears that Mr. Stovell only thought about this once it became obvious that LeBron was going to be earning tens of millions of dollars.
Luckily, like any huckster, Stovell eventually gets crossed up by his own mouth:
He says he was informed by Gloria James months later that she was pregnant. He claims she told him the child would be named LeBron, similar to Leicester Bryce, Stovell's first and middle names.
What was that he had said earlier in the interview about him not thinking about whether he had a son for twenty years? He claims a woman he met at a bar and had sex with once, wanted to name her son after him, but then he went 20 years without thinking about whether he HAD a son?
Not only do I believe that the first DNA test was true and that Mr. Stovell is a first class huckster and charlatan, but even if he IS LeBron's dad, the HECK he deserves $4 million! He deserves exactly what he ever gave to his 'son.'
NOTHING!!!
What a scumbag.
ReplyDeleteHe claims he deserves money for being a deadbeat dad.
What a total, total dirt bag.
All opportunists have to have their 15 minutes of reality show celebrity. Just look at how hard Sarah Palin worked to get herself "noticed" by John McCain.
ReplyDeleteFirst it was the beauty pageant circuit. Then it was the tape she sent to Craig Ferguson's home video segment. Then she shopped around her "exclusive" story to women's magazines toting the "immaculate water birthing" incident.
The woman has wanted to be "somebody" besides herself her entire adult life.
She's managed to make her childrens' lives hell in the process, but what the heck, she's a "star". And she's made a laughing stock of the Republican Party.
It was either her or them?
I agree with Jack that this "man" is a scumbag. Perhaps, if paternity does happen to be proved, LeBron should countersue for twenty years of child support. That would serve the scumbag right.
ReplyDeleteI find sandyh's comparison with Palin to be astonishing. Why Palin? Why not Balloon Boy's family? Why not a dozen or a hundred other people who attempt to get their "15 minutes of fame" in a myriad of stupid ways? I really fail to see how a blog post about a scumbag, potentially deadbeat dad has much of anything to do with Palin,except that some people will use any opportunity to bash her.
(Disclaimer - yes I am on the conservative/libertarian side of the spectrum, but was not overly impressed with the Republican ticket in '08. Nor was I impressed with the Democrat ticket - both sides had candidates with thin resumes.)
"Reverse paternity" sounds just like Blue Skies, freedom of speech zones, or compassionate conservatism to me. Totally bogus.
ReplyDeletejacsuza, Palin doesn't need to be common or act vulgar. It's a choice.
Apparently it's one of the few choices that conservative men allow, if not outright encourage, among their women politicians and pundits. It's about as attractive to Independent voters as it is to middle and upper class conservative women.
I assume you are also astonished by how the credit meltdown, 911, the Great Recession, and the Iraqi debacle happened. These "natural disasters" sure seem to come out of nowhere when conservative Republicans are in charge.
How long do you suppose it's going to take our economy to absorb all the junk bonds, credit default swaps, hostile takeovers and leverage buyouts, and almost a decade of tax break-induced deficits and war profiteering?
Outsourcing entire industries sure did wonders at creating capital investment in the United States and fostering real growth in our GNP?
Another Republican ticket with Palin or a Bush gracing it wouldn't astonish anybody nor impress them much either. Rand Paul is shaping up to be just about as impressive.
Perhaps it's really the defects in your ideology more than the obvious character issues and clownish behavior that isn't registering with the Silent Majority these days, only with your lunatic fringe base?
If any of you are really serious about restoring America's greatness and staging a strong recovery, you better come up with a new way of creating capital in this country instead of suggesting failed supply side economic policies or stalling those who are really working on it.
You are offering nothing...to voters or to a viable solution. You've lost your credibility and apparently your bearings, too.
James is lucky he never encountered this fraud before now. If only the American middle class could say the same about Bush, Cheney, Gingrich, or Gramm.