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Former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell is being accused of assaulting his younger cousin since she was just 6-years-old. The allegations stem from a lawsuit filed by Jade Bell in Ohio last March.
According to reports, Le’Veon Bell’s cousin Jade — whom he is eight years old than — has alleged in a lawsuit that the former Pittsburgh Steeler routinely violated her and forced her into an incestuous relationship when she was just 6 or 7 years old until she was 18.
Jade Bell made the claims in a lawsuit that was filed in Franklin County, Ohio in March of last year — Le’Veon Bell hails from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, which is located in Franklin County.
TMZ reports that, after Jade Bell filed the suit in March, “a judge issued a default judgment in her favor ruling that Le’Veon was ‘served according to law and failed to move, plead, or otherwise appear in this action’ in October 2024.
“Two weeks ago, a jury trial took place in his absence to determine the damages … and according to court documents we obtained, Jada was awarded a $25 million verdict.”
“According to the suit, Le’Veon would use ‘slang term’ to direct her when she was just a minor, which incestuous acts he wished for her to perform upon him. Jada alleged the sexual abuse continued for roughly a decade — when Bell, an ex-Michigan State tailback, would return to Ohio ‘during his college years and beyond.'” [via TMZ]
Bell, 33 years old, has denied the disturbing allegation, with his lawyer claiming he was not living in the state of Ohio at the time in which the purported crimes allegedly took place.
“My client adamantly denies any and all allegations that have been lodged against him. Further, he was never served with a civil complaint or any documents,” Bell’s lawyer said in a statement.
“The default judgment granted was based upon violations of his Fifth Amendment rights of due process for failing to be served,” he continued. “My client is in the process of filing a motion to open and reverse the default judgment because the narratives of the case have never been litigated.”
In a tweet published just an hour or so before the news of the allegations broke, Bell — who has made a turn into amateur boxing and right-wing politics since retiring from the National Football League — claimed that he is being “attacked” because of his political views.
“Being a black man and a trump supporter at the same time, so many ppl wanna attack me .. lol like why tho??? I just don’t get it .. it don’t matter tho, we STILL GOIN UP,” Bell tweeted (we cannot embed the tweet because the Elon Musk-owned social media app has remained broken for over 24 hours now).
Coincidentally, however, Bell’s public support of Trump seems to only have come in the wake of the lawsuit being filed. If you search for the term “Trump” on Bell’s Twitter, his first tweet about him did not come until July 2024 — other than a completely contextless tweet in 2016, a reply to a since-deleted post that does not express support for Trump — thus undermining his claim that the lawsuit was politically motivated.
Bell played in the NFL from 2013 to 2021 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Tampa Bay Bucs.