Venus Williams Faces a Wrongful Death Lawsuit; Not the First Athlete to Tangle with Johnny Law

Venus Williams was in tears during her July 3^rd press conference at the 2017 Wimbledon tennis tournament. The American tennis star walked away from the microphones and assembled press after breaking down in a tearful display. Williams was just off of her victory over Belgium’s Elise Mertens, but the tears weren’t due to an injury or unexpected victory.The previous week saw Williams named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Jerome Barson. Williams was involved in an automobile accident in Florida in early June with Jerome and Linda Barson. The effects of the collision between her SUV and the Barsons’ car killed the 78-year old man two weeks later.Williams isn’t the only celebrity sports star to be named in a wrongful death lawsuit nor is she the highest profile athlete to go to court.

O.J. SimpsonPerhaps the biggest wrongful death lawsuit experienced by a former athlete was the one brought against O.J. Simpson. The murder involving Simpson, ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman occurred in the summer of 1994.In October of the next year, Simpson was acquitted of all murder charges. That didn’t stop a wrongful death lawsuit being filed by the Goldman family after the murder trial’s conclusion. This time, Simpson was found guilty and the Goldmans were awarded $33.5 million in damages. Simpson was broke by the time the verdict came in 1997, and the family has received little in compensation to date.

Caitlyn JennerFormer Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner got a second life as a celebrity thanks to wife Kris and his stepchildren Kourtney, Kimberley, Khloé and Rob Kardashian. Jenner got a third life as a celebrity when he came out as a transgender woman, taking the name Caitlyn Jenner in 2015.Just before coming out, Jenner was involved in a car crash that took the life of Kim Howe. The stepchildren of Howe brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Jenner, which was settled in January 2016 out of court. A lawsuit by another driver involved in the car crash was still ongoing during the settlement of the Howe case.

Donte StallworthDonte Stallworth was a rising NFL player when he was involved in a fatal crash accident that left Mario Reyes dead. The wide receiver had just finished his first season with the Cleveland Browns. Stallworth was about to start the second year of a seven-year contract worth $35m.During the summer break, Stallworth got behind the wheel under the influence and ran over Reyes. He spent 24 days of a 30-day sentence in prison. Stallworth and the family of Reyes agreed on an out of court settlement that prevent a civil suit being filed.

Rae CarruthIn November 1999, the NFL world was shocked to learn Carolina Panthers’ receiver Rae Carruth had been arrested following the death of his girlfriend Cherica Adams. The young woman Carruth had been seeing was pregnant with his child, and the NFL star wasn’t too happy about it.Carruth hired friend Van Brett Watkins Sr. to shoot Adams while the NFL player sat in the front seat of the car they were riding in. Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and received a prison sentence with a maximum of 24 years.Carruth had wanted the child Adams was carrying to be dead, but the baby survived despite suffering brain damage due to a lack of oxygen following the shooting of Adams. That child, Chancellor Lee Adams is now 17.The former Carolina Panthers’ player will be released from prison in October 2018.Twitter @DrewFarmerFacebook https://www.facebook.com/DrewFarmerFreelance/