It’s not every day someone makes news by deciding NOT to sue his own parents, but Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson is a special circumstance.
According to TSN, Johnson will not to sue his parents after alleging they forced him into bankruptcy by taking out payday loans for bad credit in his name without his knowledge.
From TSN:
Johnson shocked the hockey world nearly a year ago when he filed for bankruptcy, disclosing that he had amassed more than $10 million worth of debt. (His creditors now charge $21 million in claims have been asserted against Johnson.)
In a startling twist, Johnson said his parents were to blame for his financial distress.
Johnson has alleged that his parents took out millions of dollars’ worth of high-interest-rate loans in his name, without his knowledge. His parents, Johnson alleged, pledged his future NHL earnings as collateral for the loans.
Johnson will be paid $5 million in salary this year but said he has taken to coupon-clipping to help pay down his enormous debt.
This is a morbidly fascinating situation. Johnson reportedly granted his parents power of attorney so they could help manage his money, then his parents turned around and allegedly used his NHL career as collateral for loans they couldn’t pay back.
Johnson and his parents’ relationship has obviously suffered amid this whole ordeal, TSN reports, but the 28-year-old decided not to sue because his parents have very little income and “are trying to make enough money to live.
Trouble reportedly began when Johnson’s parents were approached by loan brokers shortly after Johnson signed a seven-year, $30.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings in January 2011. It took two and a half years for Johnson to realize something was amiss, according to TSN.
Johnson first learned that “not all (his) ducks were in a row” at the end of the 2013-14 NHL season, when the Blue Jackets told him that the team had been contacted by one of his alleged creditors.
After getting engaged in May 2014, Johnson decided to “break off financially” from his parents and “start (his) own life.”
This situation would seem to disqualify Johnson’s parents from Parents of the Year consideration.
