The mother of 4-year-old Leah Still, who’s battling pediatric cancer, is speaking out. And she’s saying her father, Cincinnati Bengals baller Devon Still, owes child support for their cancer-stricken daughter. Also, Floyd Mayweather is justifying blasting his ex-fiancee Miss Jackson for aborting their twins. And his reason is...interesting. Get the deets inside….
We first learned about 4-year-old Leah Still and her battle with neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer, after her father Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still was cut from the team. A few days later, the NFL resigned him to the practice squad so he could continue to pay for her medical bills.
But apparently, he owes Leah’s mother, Channing Smythe, money for back child support for the past four months. According to her, Devon got upset after he asked to have Leah moved to Cincinnati from Delaware so he could be closer to him, but she refused. So, she says that’s the reason he stopped giving her money.
She told the Daily News,
“I don’t consider him a deadbeat dad. I know he loves and cares for his daughter and he is there for her. I just need him to help me financially.”
Leah was diagnosed in June of this year. Channing claims she has not received financial help from Devin since July and has had to turn to public assistance to help make ends meet.
Channing called up famed attorney Gloria Alfred to represent her. Gloria issued a letter to the NFL asking the league to investigate if Devon is in violation of its Personal Conduct Policy by failing to pay support for his daughter. In a declaration accompanying the letter addressed to NFL Vice President Jeffrey Pash, Channing writes,
“I don’t think it is fair that Devon Still, who is Leah’s father, has refused to pay any child support for her for the months of August, September, October and November of this year. “
Also in the declaration, she reveals she’s unable to work because caring for Leah requires full-time attention and that is the reason she needs the extra assistance from Devon. She claims she was almost to the point of homelessness and had to move in with a friend to keep from being out on the street.
The thing is….there’s no court order requiring Devon to pay since the two had agreed on an unofficial financial arrangement.
"I don’t feel that it was right for me to move her. [Delaware] is where all her friends and family are and this is where we have been building our life. He was very upset about that and that’s when he stopped giving me money."
Now…Channing has started the court ordered child support process, but they have yet to reach an agreement.
Rather than bash his child’s mother in the media, Devon issued a mature response to her claims, where he said,
"I am not going to retaliate against the mother of my daughter ... I am going to continue to allow the court system to handle this matter, as it has been doing these past couple of months."
Devon and Channing called in quits in April 2010 and he now engaged to another woman named Asha.
We’re sure you remember the shocking revelation made by Floyd Mayweather that his ex-fiancéeShantel Jackson ("Miss Jackson") abortedtwins they were expecting, posting a picture of the ultrasound on social media. Now, he’s speaking out and he’s justifying his actions.
According to the boxing champ, he was justified in blasting Miss Jackson (who is currently dating Nelly) on social media because they’re both public figures and they aren’t really entitled to privacy. Oh?
Miss Jackson filed a lawsuit (backed by attorney Gloria Alfred) suing Floyd for assault, battery, defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, harassment and more. Floyd is fighting back in hopes to have the case dismissed and he's specifically gunning after the invasion of privacy claim. In legal documents, Floyd says he was entitled to post about their personal lives because they live their lives in the public eye. He said,
“Both parties are public figures. Abortion is a public issue. A public figure involved with another public figure in a public relationship can expect publicity, not privacy, about why it ends.”
THIS will only get more interesting....
Photos: Getty/Devon's IG/Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive
