NBA player ordered to pay $1 million in child support arrears

Earlier this week, we wrote that celebrities are often like us “normal people” in the family law arena, using an example of an actor who recently filed a motion seeking a reduction in his court-ordered child support payments after he became unemployed. Today we are reporting a story that is similar in nature – a former professional basketball player who has been ordered to pay child support arrears, or back payments, after several years of failing to make child support payments.

However, there is one fact that significantly varies this case from the average child support case: the player was ordered to pay nearly $1 million in arrears.

According to court documents, Tyrone Lamont Nesby, a 34-year-old former NBA player, has been ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $977,000 in back child support. In addition, he has also been sentenced to five years of probation for his failure to make child support payments as ordered by the court.

From 1999 to 2002, Nesby failed to pay child support for his children in three federal court jurisdictions: Nevada, Northern Indiana and Southern Illinois, according to an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.

Nesby pleaded guilty to failure to pay, and has agreed to pay all child support arrears in full. As part of his sentence, the judge recommended that Nesby speak to local underprivileged children about the importance of family and the lessons that he has learned from his life, career, and family court experiences.

Source: Evansville Courier & Press, “Former NBA player from Southern Illinois must pay nearly $1 million in child support,” Len Wells, 13 June 2011