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LeBron James Faces 'Reverse Paternity Suit' Filed by Alleged Father

The world has been buzzing about NBA free agent LeBron James and his imminent announcement about where he will play next year, but LBW has been stuck on the sidelines with no legal angle to pounce on. Until now!

TMZ reports that a 55-year-old man named Leicester Bryce Stovell has sued James and his mother, Gloria James, claiming fraud, defamation and misrepresentation related to a cover-up of the fact that Stovell is James' biological father. A "reverse paternity suit," as Joe Weisenthal put it in his tweet.

REVERSE PATERNITY SUIT RT @HarveyLevinTMZ: In other news with LeBron...a man is suing him claiming to be his father http://bit.ly/9JdFNmless than a minute ago via TweetDeck


Stovell claims he met Gloria James in a Washington, D.C., area bar in 1984, and had unprotected sex with her. He later learned she was 15-years-old at the time (he was 29). TMZ reports that Stovell is a Princeton graduate with a law degree from the University of Chicago, and was at one point a senior legal advisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stovell alleges that following their rendezvous, Gloria James told him she was pregnant with a boy she planned to name LeBron, but she never specifically identified the father. He then did not see Gloria James again for more than 20 years.

The complaint, filed pro se by Stovell, is very interesting reading.  In short, a paternity test supposedly ruled Stovell out as the father, but he contends the results were tampered with. Among other things, Stovell says he and LeBron James are of nearly identical height and pigmentation, and have a similar appearance. In addition, he points out that LeBron named his second son "Bryce," which is Stovell's middle name. He also notes that his encounter with Gloria James occurred in mid-March 1984 and LeBron was born Dec. 30, 1984.

Here is a photo from TMZ of LeBron and Le-Bryce. What do you think?

0707-lebron-gallery-launch-ex

Posted by Bruce Carton on July 8, 2010 at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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