Tuesday, we brought you a 2007 confidentiality agreement between then-rookie J.J. Redick and model ex-girlfriend Vanessa Lopez, a bizarre contract that stipulated Redick would have to fake his relationship with Lopez in exchange for her getting an abortion. Today we've obtained more emails and documents showing the behind-the-scenes negotiations—abortion contracts don't just happen, after all.
The documents were sent to us by a reader who claimed they came from an Orlando courthouse, though we aren't able to locate a case involving Lopez or Redick (we believe they were filed in connection with Lopez's 2010 suit against Shaquille O'Neal). It's a glimpse of something we don't normally get to see, but we suspect that this—a contract governing everything from relationship to pregnancy to termination—is far from uncommon in pro sports. It doesn't take a Dukie to know you should get things in writing.
Redick and Lopez dated briefly in 2007, and Lopez became pregnant sometime in May. By September, they were discussing a deal. The contract, as it was eventually signed, held both Redick and Lopez to strict confidentiality about the paternity, and even about the fact that there had been a pregnancy in the first place.
(Redick's partial denial yesterday only claimed that Lopez "has never been pregnant with a child fathered by me" and "has never terminated a pregnancy of a child fathered by me.")
In exchange for proof that she had gotten an abortion, Redick would have to "maintain a social and/or dating relationship" for one year. Otherwise, Redick would pay Lopez $25,000.
The below Sept. 12, 2007, series of emails between Redick, his attorney Greg McNeill, and financial advisor Jeff Silverman, shows debate about the exact wording of the contract—McNeill proposed to offer Lopez two different versions, one with a relationship agreement and one without. The former was eventually signed, hours before Lopez terminated the pregnancy. ("Before the procedure," Redick wrote.)
The string of emails appears to have been forwarded from Redick's email account to Lopez's in October, presumably without his knowledge. It went both ways—two weeks after the contract was signed, Redick wrote to his attorney about the contents of Lopez's emails—which apparently McNeill had access to as well.
Greg,
When you get a chance check out her email account. It appears she is speaking with jeff schneider from truthaboutduke.com Saying things like "jj is in a lot of legal trouble", "if I talk JJ's career will be over", "JJ is not a Christian". All good things.
On Sept. 13, 2007, Redick and Lopez signed the contract. Lopez then went to a clinic in Orlando. We have a number of documents from her pre-procedure exam and education session, most of which we haven't included in the document dump at bottom.
Lopez was asked a number of questions about her mental state. One of them was, "How do you feel about having an abortion?" with 21 different adjectives to choose from. She circled "Confused," "Scared," "Certain," "Okay," "Necessary," "Sad," "Guilty," "Mixed Feelings," and "Forced Into It."
Another question: "What is the man's response to this decision?" Lopez circled "Supportive."
The physician identified the fetus as being 16-17 weeks. On the clinic's sliding scale, the cost was $1,150. Lopez paid in cash.
Four hours after the timestamp on her receipt, Lopez received an email from Greg McNeill, Redick's lawyer. He asked her to provide documentation that the abortion had been completed, as per the terms of their contract:
Vanessa,
I understand that you have completed the termination procedure. I was under the impression that a second trimester procedure was lengthy and involved an overnight stay. In any event, in connection with the agreement, please advise of when you and I may meet at the Women's Center to obtain the required medical records.
Whatever the contract stipulated about Redick's maintaining a relationship with Lopez, it didn't last. On Sept. 23, 2007, Lopez called police to file a complaint about a number of threatening phone calls from Redick's younger brother, David. She told police that J.J. Redick was her former boyfriend, and the two were involved in a legal dispute.
(A 2008 letter from a Florida therapist claims that she was giving Lopez "counseling for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from physical violence and a forced abortion by her then boyfriend, a professional athlete, and his attorney. That relationship has ended, but since then she has been threatened by her boyfriend's family and his brother which has contributed to her stress.")
Lopez is no stranger to legal troubles. In 2010 she filed suit against Shaquille O'Neal, claiming that they had conducted a relationship when he was married, but that after she became pregnant he began to harass her. Earlier this year, Gloria Allred dropped Lopez as a client in the Shaq suit, claiming "the client insists upon taking actions that counsel considers repugnant, imprudent and with which counsel has a fundamental disagreement." Her suit was dismissed shortly after, and the judge, in his dismissal, noted "Lopez's own undeniable threats to J.J. Redick."
Messages to Redick, Lopez, McNeill, and the therapist were not returned.