The story was picked up yesterday by TMZ Sports, where it finally started to make the rounds through NFL circles. Later in the day, the paparazzi website got in contact with Thomas’ attorney, Adam Kenner, for a response.
The woman accuses Thomas of, among other things, “sexual battery”, accusing him of being physically abusive during their relationship.
She also accuses him of negligence in informing her of what she claims is an STD that only he could have given her, for which she tested positive in February 2012, about five months after the relationship ended.
He responded last night through his attorney, who described Thomas’ ex-girlfriend as a “bitter girl”. “She’s angry, vindictive and mean because he has another woman, and a baby in his life”, TMZ quotes the attorney as saying.
Kenner describes Thomas as “like a gentle giant”, which is a similar description of his demeanor that we have heard before, but that is of course not a valid defense against charges of the physical abuse alleged against him.
Again, as previously written, the woman claims that Thomas “choked her, set the bed on fire while she was in it, and pinned her down and burned her with her flat iron”, all of which took place after she confronted him about infidelity.
After being confronted, he allegedly attempted, or threatened, to push her out of a moving vehicle on the freeway, telling her that “we all have to die some time”. She left him for a few weeks before relenting to his series of apologies, after which she claims the abuse began.
Thomas’ lawyer contends that the woman’s claims are a clear money grab, having recently signed a two-year, $4 million contract, and says that “he would never lay a hand on her”.
Regarding the allegation of willfully spreading herpes, Kenner responded that while he is not Thomas’ doctor, he was going to get him tested “as a result of this baseless accusation”.
As for his attorney’s claim that the fact she tested positive for herpes five months after the termination of their relationship vindicates him on that front, that is clearly not the case, as herpes as well as many other STDs can potentially lay dormant for years.
We’ll just have to see where this one goes, but in the short-term this narrative should just be a blip in the radar that has no bearing on the day-to-days of the team’s preparations for the upcoming season.
It is worth noting that in 2012, a civil court case was thrown out when an unnamed woman who sought a restraining order on him in June 2011 did not show up to court. The woman “previously had signed a complaint alleging various instances of intimidation and domestic violence by Thomas in 2010 and 2011”. He also faced child support charges with multiple women within or around that timeframe.
Though perhaps likely, it’s unclear if this is the same woman in the current suit. Thomas contends that their relationship ended approximately five months prior to February 2012, when she tested positive.
