Why the Family of an NFL Player Is Suing a Real Housewives Star
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One week after the Super Bowl, the owners of the Carolina Panthers filed a lawsuit against former NFL wide receiver Kelvin Beachum and three of his ex-wives. A lawyer for the three women alleges that their ex-husbands pressured them to make false claims to a judge and to one another about Beachum’s alleged income. The women also say Beachum repeatedly insulted them and the NFL.
In a twist, a fourth woman, Gail Gatto, a real housewife and reality TV star who appeared on the long-running Bravo reality series, has joined the lawsuit. The news makes us wonder if the NFL will ever catch up to the reality TV industry as a full-blown scandal.
After the Panthers filed the lawsuit, the former wives filed counterclaims against Beachum. Beachum, a former NFL All-Pro wide receiver and Hall of Fame quarterback, was married to Gatto from 2003 to 2010. In one of the counterclaims, his ex-wives allege that after they filed the counterclaims, Beachum’s attorney told them he did not plan to pursue them.
All four of the ex-wives say that Beaum’s attorney contacted them recently to let them know that he and the attorney plan to file the lawsuit on December 20. The four, who are represented by the lawyers who filed the counterclaims for them, said the attorney told them the move was to “dismiss” the counterclaims.
The attorneys for the Carolina Panthers filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing Beachum and his three wives of violating his “no contact” order entered last year. The four ex-wives say their husbands and he have violated the order by calling and texting them, sending pictures through Facebook, and sending emails asking them to “make up” allegations against each other.
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