Getting carted off to jail? Anybody can get it.
Adrien Broner has long been one of those figures in combat sports that just has trouble following him everywhere. After a lawsuit filed against him stemming from an assault case in a nightclub back in 2018, he has now been found in contempt of court by a judge. The original case had him charged in November of 2018, and Broner did not even hire an attorney to represent him and his interests in a civil suit.
On top of that, he never bothered to even show up to hearings and the plaintiff was awarded judgment. After the COVID crisis postponed all legal proceedings, Broner blew past this latest deadline. That was not a good thing.
Cleveland.com’s Cory Shaffer brings us this:
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo found the 31-year-old Broner failed to cooperate with multiple deadlines she set for him to hand over documents and other evidence showing why he has not been able to pay the more than $800,000 judgment the judge ordered him to pay the woman in December.
After the court had given various extensions, the parameters set by the court were not met. This has led to Broner having to cough up some serious cash that he has claimed he doesn’t have on hand to pay.
This is not an extraordinary or surprising thing in some cases like this involving rich people or celebrities. This time, things are a little different:
Russo cited an Instagram video posted this week showing Broner handling large stacks of money after saying in an Oct. 5 court filing in that he had just over $13 in cash. Russo ordered Broner to remain in jail until he provides complete and truthful information about his finances to the woman’s attorney, Subodh Chandra and the Chandra Law Firm.
“Mr. Broner has continually defied every court ordered I’ve given,” Russo said during the hearing. “The jig is up today.”
Here’s that Instagram video that was referenced.
A hearing was subsequently scheduled for this Wednesday with Broner and his attorney to ensure compliance, an affair that was capped off with Broner being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Broner explained away the Instagram post by stating that this was money wired to him by “rich friends“ as he was having money trouble, and that he doesn’t even handle his own finances. Those matters are allegedly tended to by his mother and manager due to a history of alcohol abuse and mental illness.
Broner raised a bit of chatter not even two weeks ago, when he announced he was “back“ and angling for a fight in early 2021. He informed the court that the big payday would be his ticket to paying off his fees. His last fight was a disappointing outing in 2019 against Filipino megastar Manny Pacquiao.
What’s next for Broner after this misadventure? We’ll follow up as this develops.