Davia Bradshaw says that for three years she has been in a legal battle with her ex, former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Clint Session. The 36-year-old Florida woman says that despite "a Broward [County] judge's February judgment ordering Session to make regular support payments for the couple's ailing daughter, Ashton," he has paid very little of the owed amount, even going so far as to hide money, the Broward Palm Beach New Times reports.
In March 2012, after dating Session for four years, Bradshaw gave birth to their daughter, Ashton, who was "later diagnosed with agenesis of the corpus callosum, a rare brain defect, as well as cerebral palsy and encephalopathy," according to the New Times. Because of her ailments, Ashton, who is unable to walk or eat normal food and is nearly blind, needs around-the-clock care costing some thousands of dollars a month.
"What is going on with the law?" Bradshaw said in an interview with the New Times. "This is justice denied. We've been going through this for three years."
According to the newspaper, Session had a short but lucrative career, playing for the Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars before his career was cut short in 2011 after he suffered multiple concussions.
Bradshaw told the New Times that shortly before their baby was born, the relationship ended, and since then, Session hasn't been financially supportive. In fact, a judge said that Session moved money so that it couldn't be used as potential income in determining child support payments.
"Between April 2012 and December 2014, Session paid Bradshaw $75,100 for care. The payments, however, came in erratic bundles and one check even bounced, court paperwork says," according to the New Times.
Bradshaw's attorneys combed Session's finances to find that Session reportedly handed his parents over $5.1 million. Judge Arthur Birken called this "an attempt to circumvent and specifically intended to avoid paying his proper child support obligation," the New Times reports.
While Session was in court claiming that he had no income, including representing himself during one of his many court appearances, the New Times found that he still lived a lavish lifestyle. In April 2014 he purchased a home in Indianapolis for $850,000 and a $35,000 Mercedes-Benz for his new girlfriend. He also gave $20,000 to a church and spent $17,521 on a high-priced freezer for Raw Juice, his smoothie business.
According to a recent judge's ruling, Session owes some $120,256 in back child support. That ruling also shows that Session should be making $6,900 monthly payments, plus an additional $2,000 for previous unpaid child support, the New Times reports.
Bradshaw told the newspaper that Session has paid "$1,000 each month of 2015" and added that the fight is one she would have given up on a long time ago if their daughter were healthy.
"If this had been a normal child and we were just fighting for money, I would have thrown in the white flag a long time ago," Bradshaw told the New Times. "But she has disabilities. No one else, not even my closest friends or family, is going to step up for her, because it's a lot of responsibility."
Bradshaw added that going back to work isn't an option for her because she has to provide care for her child 24-7 and cannot afford a caretaker to watch Ashton while she is away at a job.
The case continues. "Once you get a final judgment, that's supposed to be the law," Bradshaw's attorney, Sara Lawrence, told the newspaper. "But then you have to try to get people to do what they're supposed to do. It’s very frustrating. He's playing games. The longer he waits, the worse [Ashton] is. The baby is not getting the treatment she needs."
The New Times reached Session by cellphone and he refused to comment on what he called a "confidential case" that he is still "going through."
Read more at the Broward Palm Beach New Times.