The greatest basketball player of all-time is ready to go to battle one more time, but in a different kind of court.
Michael Jordan has asked a Georgia court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by a woman who says the NBA hall of famer is the father of her 16-year-old son. In a document filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court, Jordan’s lawyer John Mayoue says that the six-time NBA champion is not the father of Pamela Y. Smith’s son.
Via AP:
Jordan, 50, released a statement to The Associated Press on Monday through his spokeswoman Estee Portnoy saying, “Public records show that the paternity of the child was established in a prior case in this same court many years ago and that Michael Jordan is not the father. He also filed a counterclaim seeking sanctions for the false claims made against him. It is unfortunate that well-known figures are the target of these kind of claims. Michael Jordan will vigorously defend himself and his reputation.”
Jordan also called the lawsuit a “shameless, bad faith attempt to abuse the legal system.” Smith’s lawsuit requests Jordan take a paternity test and pay child support in addition to the boy’s last name be legally changed to Jordan. Moreover, she requests the Georgia Department of Vital Records to issue him a new birth certificate.
“Pamela had no choice but to support her son and his desire to forge a relationship with his father,” Smith’s publicist, April Love, said in a statement Friday. “That’s why she is now speaking out and prompting Michael to do the right thing.”
Love said Smith, 48, and Jordan met in Chicago in the late 1980s.
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Photo: AP