On February 2, sports star Vincent “Bo” Jackson won a $21 million lawsuit against his niece and nephew for allegedly blackmailing and extorting him. According to The Associated Press, the 61-year-old former professional baseball and football player has been given a permanent protective order against the defendants.
The siblings, Thomas Lee Anderson and Erica M. Anderson Ross, have been ordered to stop bothering Jackson or contacting him or his close family. The siblings have been ordered to maintain a 500-yard distance from the Jackson family and remove any social media posts about them.
Jackson, the only professional athlete in history to be chosen an all-star in both major sports in North America, accused the Andersons of employing harassment and intimidation to extort $20 million from him.
“Unfortunately for those attempting to extort $20 million from Jackson and his family, Bo still hits back hard,” Jackson’s lawyers stated on Monday.
The plaintiff in the case said his niece and nephew began harassing him in 2022, sharing threatening remarks and messages on social media and tarnishing his reputation. According to WSB-TV, Jackson claimed that the defendants exposed sensitive information about him, causing him significant emotional distress. The Heisman Trophy winner said Thomas Anderson made a Facebook post stating that he would reveal the plaintiff’s images, text messages, and medical data to “show America” he was serious.
Jackson said in the lawsuit that the siblings and an Atlanta attorney pressured him to pay up to stop their acts. In April, he claimed the Andersons threatened to disrupt a charity event he was throwing at a nearby restaurant, as reported by the Associated Press.
The court ruled that the defendants’ efforts lacked legal merit. Despite receiving a cease and desist letter from Jackson’s counsel, the siblings continued to harass and intimidate him.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt claimed that the defendants and their attorneys failed to rebut Jackson’s charges and participate in the case after a May 2023 hearing, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The judge ultimately found in Jackson’s favor after determining that the defendants were in default.
“Reasonable people would find the defendants’ behavior extreme and outrageous,” Marbutt wrote in his decision. “The court saw evidence that an attorney representing defendants claimed his clients’ conduct would cease for the sum of $20 million.”