We hear all the time about celebrities being told they’re the father of an illegitimate child, with mothers of those children demanding paternity tests and large sums of money for child support. Tween heartthrob Justin Beiber recently faced a paternity suit filed by a woman who said her baby was the product of a backstage sexual encounter.
As is typical in these cases, the lawsuit was dropped last week. But another big name facing a paternity suit has stepped into the spotlight, with very different results.
A woman claiming to be pregnant with Dallas Cowboys Jay Ratliff’s baby filed a paternity suit in April, and the three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle agreed to take a DNA test. The match came back positive, and he has told a judge he wants to be involved in his newborn’s life and is even attempting to obtain shared custody. But according to TMZ, the mother of Ratliff’s baby has demanded more child support money than state guidelines allow.
A representative for Ratliff told TMZ that the footballer has been visiting his son at least three times per week. Still, he told a judge he’s concerned the baby’s mother is trying to take advantage of his sizeable bank account. The paternity lawsuit is ongoing and eventually a judge will determine how much, if anything, the mother can expect to gain.
It remains to be seen whether the woman and her son will get a piece of Ratliff’s NFL salary, but now that he’s been confirmed as the father, the newborn and his mother will probably get some amount of child support. Regardless of what that figure is, it will accompany the athlete’s personal attention to his son, which some would argue is just as valuable.
Source: TMZ, “Cowboys Star to Judge: I Want to be Involved in My Child’s Life,” Nov. 15, 2011