An Atlanta woman is asking a court to hold former NFL star Terrell Owens in contempt for failure to pay child support.
Melanie Smith, in a petition filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court, says Owens has failed to make court-ordered payments for December, January, February, April, May and June, a total of $30,000.
Owens was ordered in 2007 to pay Smith $5,000 a month in child support for their daughter, one of four children he has with four different women.
In her petition, Smith also alleges that Owens sent her several taunting text messages.
One of the messages cited in the petition said, "The other mothers got a dose of reality once my attorneys and judge explained by [sic] financial situation ... so you can only imagine wht's gonna happen whn we go 2 court."
In another text, Owens seems to deny he's in financial trouble. "Not looking 4 pity, sympathy, nothing! I've never said I was broke. Tht's what the media has said. Enjoy ur day."
In addition to asking for payment of the $30,000 with interest, Smith asked the court to order Owens to pay her attorneys fees and "exercise [the court's] contempt powers to fine and/or jail" Owens.
A hearing is scheduled for July 12.
Smith and Owens have been fighting over child support for years.
A previous request by Smith to have Owens held in contempt was dismissed in July 2011 after Owens made good on delinquent payments.
Owens, 38, last played in the NFL in 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was recently released by the Allen (Texas) Wranglers of the Indoor Football League and is hoping to return to the NFL. Earlier this week he fired his longtime agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and hired Dallas-based agent Jordan Woy.
In an interview this year with GQ magazine, he estimated he had made $80 million during his career.
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