Le’Veon Bell has spoken out after he was ordered to pay his cousin $25 million after a jury found him liable for s*xual ab*se.
The woman, who Le’veon names in his livestream as Jada Bell, told a jury that the athlete and his brother, La’Vonte Bell, started abusing her when she was just a child (about six or seven years old.)
“None of these encounters were consensual and they happened with such frequency as to habitualize Plaintiff to the abuse,” her lawsuit reads.
Jada alleges she suffered “extreme and ongoing mental anguish and distress as a result of the incestual sexual relations forced upon her by the Defendants.”
Jada alleges that La’Veon, who is eight years her senior, would continue to abuse her even after he went away to college during his visits back home to Ohio. She says the abuse finally ended around 2017 when she was an adult.
In the Twitch livestream, Le’Veon claims that for years, he was paying most of her bills, including her rent, hair appointments, and food expenses. He says when he was eventually unable to continue to pay, she told him, “You’ll see who the real villain is.” He says Jada is an alcoholic, and her father is serving a lengthy prison sentence.
Several years later, he was slapped with a sexual abuse lawsuit. He vows to fight the verdict in court.
Le’Veon was ordered to $20 million in compensatory damages plus $5 million in punitive damages. His brother, La’Vonte Bell, who was also accused of the same charges, was ordered to pay $11 million in damages.
Le’Veon was a running back during his tenure at Michigan State and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played for other NFL teams, including the Jets, Chiefs, Ravens, and Bucs.