Michael Jordan Sued for Paternity, Child Support

Michael Jordan, the former Chicago Bulls superstar and legendary hall-of-famer, is being sued by an alleged ex-lover who claims that Jordan is the father of her 16-year-old son. She wants him to take a paternity test and pay child support.

About the claim

Legally, the paternity claim seems to stand on shaky ground. Pamela Smith, the plaintiff, claims that she became pregnant after she had sex with Jordan in 1995. At the time, Jordan was married to Juanita Vanoy. While there are pictures of them together from that time period, there is little evidence they ever had sex.

Furthermore, the claims are questionable due Mrs. Smith’s divorce from her previous husband, Glenville G. Reynolds. In the paperwork for that divorce, she stated that Reynolds was the father of her child and that he had to pay child support.

Jordan’s response

For his part, Jordan is looking to have the charges dropped. He has accused Pamela Smith of making false claims and released a statement where he calls her lawsuit a “shameless, bad faith attempt” to use the legal system for her own advantage. A Virginia Beach child support attorney, especially one representing such a high-profile figure as Michael Jordan, would likely push back hard against any false claims like this one.

How the paternity suit got started

Smith’s son, Taj, posted a video to YouTube in December 2012 saying that Jordan was his father and asking for him to play a bigger role in his life. While Jordan has not responded to the video or Taj’s request, it reportedly started the ball rolling for Pamela Smith to file the lawsuit, saying that everything she does, she does for her son.

In addition to the paternity test and child support, Smith’s lawsuit also requests that Jordan share medical costs for the child and that Taj’s last name be officially changed to Jordan.

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