It is troubling to even think about, but the truth is that there are mothers in Missouri, and around the country, who will try and claim a man is the father of their child in order to receive child support. When this happens, it is important to not just give in, but to rather establish paternity — or prove to not be the father — through a DNA paternity test.
Right now this is what NBA hall of famer Michael Jordon is doing. This comes after a woman filed a lawsuit against him claiming that he is the father of her teenage son. In this lawsuit, she wants Jordon to take a paternity test, pay child support and for the boy’s last name to be changed to Jordon. She also wants the state’s Department of Vital Records to reissue a birth certificate.
However, Jordon is adamantly denying the accusations that he is the boy’s father. Rather, he is asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit and points to the fact that the paternity of the boy was already established when the mother went through a divorce several years back.
In addition to wanting to see the paternity case dismissed, he is also countersuing for the false claims that were made against him.
In response to this lawsuit, the 14 time NBA all-star said this is a “shameless, bad faith attempt to abuse the legal system.” In a statement released by Jordon, through his spokeswoman, he also said, “It is unfortunate that well-known figures are the target of these kinds of claims.”
In this case, if there is a court hearing, it has been requested that it remain in a closed court in order to protect the identity of the boy. However, before the lawsuit was even filed, the teen went ahead and posted a YouTube video claiming that Jordon was his father and he wants the NBA star to play a bigger role in his life.
This case is a perfect example of the fact that while paternity tests can be used to establish who a child’s father in order to try and secure parental rights, these DNA tests can also be used in paternity disputes.
Source: ABC News, “Jordan Files for Paternity Lawsuit to Be Dismissed,” Kate Brumback and Steve Reed, Associated Press, March 4, 2013
