NBA player accused of coercing Instagram model to kill their preborn baby

An Instagram model has accused NBA player Anthony Edwards, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, of pressuring her to kill his preborn child in an abortion, and even paying her $100,000 to go through with it despite her protests.

According to messages posted online by Paige Jordae, she and Edwards had a seemingly illicit relationship, which resulted in Jordae becoming pregnant. Edwards is already expecting a child with girlfriend Jeanine Robel.

After sending Edwards a photo of a positive pregnancy test, he immediately told Jordae to “get a abortion lol” [sic], which she initially refused to do. “Honestly I had an abortion with my son around [two] years ago and I regret it every day,” she said, adding, “I said I had an abortion [two] years ago and I regret it.”

She further added, “Being cool to [you] is just going to get an abortion by myself [and you] not doing s*** [and] going about your day… that’s being cool to [you]. Obviously [you] been through this before, judging by [your] reaction.”

Edwards seemingly continued to push the abortion on Jordae, even offering her money to go through with the procedure, though she seemed to continue resisting. “I’m not trying to force you to be a dad to a baby [you] don’t want,” she said. “I just don’t like abortions. [T]hat doesn’t make me wrong. If [you] really don’t want to do this then fine… I won’t.”

Edwards then demanded — incessantly — that Jordae send him pictures and videos of her taking the abortion pills to prove she went through with it. Meanwhile, she sent pictures of babies, saying how cute they were, but Edwards was evidently unmoved. He responded by repeatedly texting, “Send [the] video.” Eventually, a screenshot of a video was sent, with Jordae saying she had done what he asked. She then shared a screenshot of a $100,000 wire transfer from someone with the initials “AE.”

She seemingly went through with the abortion, texting, “I did my part, [you] ain’t even ask me if I’m good.”

The response on social media has been mixed; on Instagram, Edwards has faced harsh criticism:

Others, however, laughed at the notion of being paid to have an abortion.

As media furor surrounding the scandal grew, Edwards released a statement on Twitter — which, frankly, sounds nothing like the same person who sent Jordae the texts.

“I made comments in the heat of a moment that are not me, and that are not aligned with what I believe and who I want to be as a man,” he said. “All women should be supported and empowered to make their own decisions about their bodies and what is best for them. I am handling my personal matters privately and will not be commenting on them any further at this time.”

Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch likewise addressed the issue, telling reporters he will be handling the situation with Edwards.

“We will be having ongoing conversations about such things,” he said. “I think it’s important to state that it’s not reflective of our organization, our values, for sure. And as a young man, it’s clear that the education and maturity of Anthony Edwards continues to be a work in progress. Beyond that, it’s a personal matter for him and any conversations that we have will remain private.”

It is very common for women to be coerced or pressured into abortions, especially when the father is a celebrity or more wealthy or powerful than the mother. Research has found that over 60% of women report feeling pressured to have an abortion, and are sometimes threatened with violence, homelessness, or other reprisal. And all too often, abortion staffers look the other way.

Winnie Porter, a midwife with the abortion chain MSI Reproductive Choices — formerly Marie Stopes — previously told the BBC that coercion is simply a typical part of the job.

“I hear the same things and I hear the same techniques that people are using to try and coerce women into having abortions, into not having abortions, into having contraception that they don’t want,” she said, adding, “I’d say it’s almost a bit of a blind spot for a lot of services. It is so subtle that it almost doesn’t appear, you almost don’t notice it and it’s only through really kind of questioning what’s going on in that woman’s life when you start to understand that this very specific type of control is happening.”

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail this Christmas for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.