Negro Nonsense Month continues...
Just when you thought you'd heard the worst about athletes and paternity tests, like some weird episode of Maury comes this news out of Denver.
Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry, 28, has fathered nine children by nine women in at least four Southern states and has been ordered by various judges to provide child support for seven of them, according to court records involving one child living in DeKalb County. DeKalb Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger this week ordered Henry to provide $3,000 a month for the Lithonia boy he fathered out of wedlock three years ago with Jameshia Beacham, now 29.Weighing his options? If Mr. Henry is truly concerned, let me present an option: get yourself fixed.
Henry isn't the most thrifty guy, according to court records, so the judge wants to ensure payment by establishing an unusual $250,000 trust that Henry must fund by next spring. Seeliger wrote that the football player displayed "bad judgment in his spending habits," dropping $100,000 for a car and $146,000 for jewelry. Meanwhile, Henry fell behind on support payments for his child with Beacham that were mandated by a previous order. Threatened with jail, he borrowed $9,800 from his former team, the Tennessee Titans, to pay the bill, according to court records.
The trust ensures Beacham will get timely payment if the pro player falls behind on his installments again. Yet the trust could be a sticking point for Henry, who could appeal. His lawyer, Shiel Edlin, said that to his knowledge the trust would be without precedent in Georgia. A quarter-million dollars is a lot of money, even for Henry, Edlin said. "He has some concerns and he's weighing his options."
I know that sounds dramatic, but as I've stated here before, it's not as if Henry seems to actually want these babies. Common sense would dictate that after seeing his wages garnished after Child #4, something would click and say "hmmm, maybe I should strap up". By continuing to engage in Russian Roulette with women he could probably care less about, he's clearly showing a complete lack of understanding of consequences. Also, a man who spends $150k on jewelry when he's behind on child support payments clearly isn't working with a full deck, even though he can run the heck out of a football and would be a great sleeper pick in your upcoming fantasy draft. Running behind that offensive line in Denver's system is going to mean lots of yards and TD's. But I digress.
I case you think I'm being overly judgemental here, this is the same Travis Henry who plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted sexual misconduct with a 15 year old a few years ago when he played for the Buffalo Bills.
His defense? "She said she was almost 18." Classic.
Beacham could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Robert Wellon, said he asked that the trust be set up because Henry rarely made the payments mandated by an earlier order, though they were $800 less a month. Wellon said there was testimony establishing that Henry received a $1 million bonus earlier this year but quickly spent most of it, buying, among other things, a Mercedes and gold jewelry.Again, clearly not a guy working with a full deck.
"My argument was, if he makes wise investments, other than in gold chains, then he should be able to make the payments," Wellon said.
Henry, obviously inspired by Hall of Famer Professional BabyMakers like Evander Holyfield (at least 11 kids), Derrick Thomas, (7 kids) and Shawn Kemp (at least 7 kids), has taken Ludacris' song "Hoes in Different Area Codes" a bit too literally.
Records show that Henry's children are scattered across both the American and National Football Conferences, including Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Wellon said Henry talked about gathering them together to watch him at training camp. Indeed, part of the custody arrangement Henry reached with Beacham requires two weekend visits when he is playing pro ball.Yes, committed to bustin' a nut. That's about the extent of that commitment.
Edlin said Henry wants to be a good parent. "I know these are a lot of kids, and there might be some questions about it," he said, "but he's a really committed father."
Still, part of me says you can't blame Henry entirely. What about the women who know this man already has 6-7 kids scattered around like dominos, yet still make a conscious decision to let him go bareback? What type of self-respecting woman willingly gets herself pregnant by a man with 9 kids and 9 babymothers? What sort of support (other than financial, and only as long as he's playing even in that case) do you expect such a man to provide for your child? What kind of chick lays down with a dude like that? So, forgive me for not being very sympathetic to the babymoms here. They should know better.
Clearly, the only victims in this case are the kids. There's no way a man can effectively be a presence in the lives of 9 different children living over 4 states. Parenting requires time, patience, and as I'm finding out, a consistent physical presence to truly effect the life of your child in a positive manner. As a father of one child, with one child's mother (aka: AvgSis), I am constantly worn out. I could hardly imagine trying to raise two kids, let alone nine, and with nine different women. So, most likely, in all aspects of what a father provides (discipline, unconditional love, nurturing, protection), these kids will be ass out, by none of their own doing, but rather because a rolling stone of a running back couldn't keep it in his pants and a hoochie mama of a groupie wouldn't let him. And that, my friends, if what you call triflin'.
I know, many of you will say these kids will be well off financially, and that's probably true, at least until Henry blows out a knee and can't play anymore. But with his selfish spending habits, chances are 6-7 years from now, AvBro will be blogging about an NFL player jailed for massive arrears on child support of 15 kids by 18 mothers. And there's nothing funny about that.
Note to Travis Henry: get yourself fixed, bruh.
Broncos player ordered to pay child support in Georgia: Travis Henry reportedly fathered nine children in four states [AJC]
