With fame and fortune, athletes will often find themselves surrounded by women. Most of the time, athletes live a life that is centered around their sport, but many athletes also find the time to make the most of their celebrity status. Throughout sports, there are some athletes that have had a shocking amount of children and frequently by many different women. This ability to score both on and off the field of play does not always work out best for the athlete, however, as many of them find their fortune diminishing with monthly child support payments for their offspring.
10. Shawn Kemp – 7 Children With 6 Women
Shawn Kemp was as famous for his off-court antics as he was for the ferocious dunks he’d throw down on hapless defenders, and these off-court antics include a reported seven children with six different women. His eldest son, Shawn Kemp Jr., currently plays for the University of Washington, and it is hoped that he possesses the same on-court skills as his father, but perhaps not the off-court issues that plagued much of his career. Kemp had all kinds of legal trouble throughout his career, including investigation for drug possession, having a firearm, and being arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2006. The six-time NBA All-Star attempted numerous times to make it back into the NBA, perhaps because of a struggle to make so many child support payments each month.
9. Mike Tyson – 8 Children With an Unknown Number of Women
With a father like Mike Tyson, you can be sure that his kids don’t misbehave, as “Iron Mike” is the most intimidating personality in sports. Tyson has fathered eight children with an unknown number of women, but he has been married three times and he also includes the oldest daughter of his second wife as his own. Sadly, one of Tyson’s children died when she was just four years old, after her brother found her tangled in a cord. Tyson’s money troubles have been well-documented, and he has admitted that he now has to live paycheck to paycheck after leading such a wild lifestyle for so long. During an interview on The View, Tyson stated “I’m totally broke. I had a lot of fun…I’m very grateful. I don’t deserve to have the wife that I have; I don’t deserve the kids that I have, but I do, and I’m very grateful.”
8. Muhammad Ali – 9 Children With 5 Women
The greatest boxer and one of the finest athletes of all time, Muhammad Ali also has a large family. The boxing legend has four children with his second wife, two daughters with his third wife, and an adopted son with his fourth wife. On top of this, Ali also has two more daughters from extramarital relationships, which brings his tally to seven daughters and two sons with five different women. His skills clearly extend out of the ring. One of his daughters followed in his footsteps and became a successful boxer herself. Laila Ali finished her career in 2007 with an undefeated record of 24 wins (21 by KO). This was despite the fact that Muhammad Ali had made comments against female boxing earlier in his career, stating that “women are not made to be hit in the breast and face like that.”
7. Willie Anderson – 9 Children With 7 Women
Willie Anderson is far from the most famous NBA player, but perhaps that is because he spent most of his time fathering nine children with seven different women. The 10th pick in the 1988 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, Anderson would spend six years in San Antonio before moving on to Toronto, New York, Miami and, eventually, Europe. In 2003, Anderson lost almost all of the $1.75 million he was about to receive from a deferred contract, as this cash was divided up amongst the IRS and three of the women to whom he had not paid child support. The amount received was no where near the amount owed, with the judge stating that “there was just not enough money to go around.” Sadly, in situations like this everyone seems to lose out, and it should be a cautionary tale for young athletes.
6. Jason Caffey – 10 Children With 8 Women
Former NBA player Jason Caffey has so many children that they could all play a full-court game of basketball against each other. Caffey was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 20th pick in the 1995 draft, which made him fortunate enough to play alongside Michael Jordan. Caffey won two rings with the Bulls in 1996 and 1997, before going on to play with the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks. Over his career, Caffey fathered more children than his points per game average (7.3), which has, unsurprisingly, generated plenty of child support problems. In 2009, a judge ordered for his arrest after he was accused of failing to pay over $200,000 in child support to just one of the eight women, plus legal fees to her lawyer. Caffey must have been on top of the world after being drafted by the Bulls, but things would soon take a turn for the worse.
5. Travis Henry – 11 Children With 10 Women
Former running back Travis Henry crosses over into double digits territory, with a shocking 11 children with 10 different women. Henry played seven seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos, but even an NFL player’s wage will not be able to keep up with the child support payments he has to make for his small army. This has been an on going issue for Henry, who was arrested in Florida in 2009 after failing to pay $16,600 in child support. He has also been involved in drug trafficking, seeing him sentenced to three years in federal prison in 2009 for financing a cocaine trafficking operation. Henry’s lawyer has estimated that he has to pay at least $170,001 annually in child support, a great advert for practicing safe sex.
4. Evander Holyfield – 11 Children With 6 Women
Evander Holyfield continued to box well into his late 40s, and it is more than likely that this was not because he loved getting into the ring. Instead, it is much more likely that it has something to do with his record outside of the ring. Holyfield has 11 children with six different women, including two children out of wedlock. In 2013, Holyfield was found to have failed to pay over $500,000 in back child support. Despite amassing a staggering fortune of $230 million in the ring, the majority of this is now gone due to gambling, three messy divorces and payments for his collection of offspring. Evander Holyfield was certainly a talent inside the ring and retired the only four-time World Heavyweight Champion and with a record of 44 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw and 1 no contest, but he now has very little to show for this.
3. George Foreman – 12 Children (2 Adopted) With 4 Women
Yet another boxer to make this list, George Foreman has 12 children (five sons and seven daughters), including two adopted daughters. The two-time World Heavyweight Champion decided to name all of his sons George (and a daughter called Georgetta), and Foreman explained his choice by stating “if you’re going to get hit as many times as I’ve been hit by Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield—you’re not going to remember many names.” Unlike most of the entries on this list, Foreman takes great pride in being a father and has even written a book about fatherhood. Speaking about children from previous partners, Foreman believes that “you may have even an ex-wife or ex-husband, but you can never have ex-children.” Foreman also seems to have the money to raise such a large amount of children, largely thanks to his promotion of the George Foreman Grill.
2. Antonio Cromartie – 12 Children With 8 Women
New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie has a whopping 12 children with eight different women, and at 31 years old he may just well add to this tally if someone doesn’t teach him how to practice safe sex soon. He has been married to Terricka Cason from Candy Girls since 2010, with four of his 12 kids coming from this relationship. In 2010, Cromartie’s outstanding child support payments were taken care of by the Jets—something that a lot of these athletes would be more than jealous of. Kellen Winslow and Antonio Cromartie recently had a feud on Twitter, with Winslow retaliating by claiming that Cromartie should “learn your kids’ names.” In a 2010 edition of Hard Knocks, Cromartie is asked to name all of his children (which he struggles to do). He also reportedly had a vasectomy in 2011, but the twins that arrived in 2014 suggest otherwise.
1. Calvin Murphy – 14 Children With 9 Women
Most people consider three or four children to be a lot, but former Rockets player Calvin Murphy has a jaw-dropping 14 kids and by nine different women. That must be one interesting family tree to draw up, but the Hall of Famer has a somewhat tarnished reputation due to allegations made in 2004. Murphy was accused of sexually abusing five of his daughters, all of whom were born outside of his marriage. The two daughters born in wedlock came to his defense, and he was eventually acquitted of these charges after there was no physical evidence. Despite being acquitted, Murphy’s reputation was damaged, and many already disapproved of his actions in terms of being unfaithful to his wife and knocking up women all over the country. Although he is a Hall of Famer and had an impressive career in the NBA, Murphy is now best known for his fertility.
