Karl Malone, his wife Kay and his ACKNOWLEDGED daughter Sheryl, right, smile as they look at his retired basketball jersey hanging in the rafters

ESPN’s Page 2 yesterday published one of the bizarre stories I’ve seen in a while. According to the report, former NBA legend and the man who lays claim to the ugliest game in the world, Karl Malone “The Mailman” Malone maybe the ugliest father figure as well. ESPN’s Jemele Hill revealed that Malone fathered a child at the age of 20 with Gloria Bell, a girl who was only 13 years old when she became pregnant…a story unto itself but it goes deeper.

Remarkably, the child is Demetrius Bell, the 7th round draft pick for the Buffalo Bills. Malone reportedly has never been an active member in Demetrius’ life. How fitting that “The Mailman” would drop off the package and be out.

“I treat it as if my mother went to the sperm bank,” Bell said about his father. “I don’t hate him for [not being in my life]. It made me a better person.”

According to the Salt Lake Tribune Bell’s grandparents sued Malone for paternity in 1986, requesting he pay $200 a week but Malone didn’t respond. A Louisiana judge accepted the results of a paternity test and ruled he was Bell’s father and ordered Malone to pay $125 a week, plus past and future medical expenses. Malone claimed that was “too much money” but later settled out-of-court with Bell’s family between 1988 and 1989.

This is bananas…perhaps I could understand not being involved in a child’s life because you didn’t know about him or maybe, just maybe cause you couldn’t afford to but Malone made more than $100 million during his NBA career. The article is truly a jaw dropper so be sure to check it out. I never liked Malone as a player and there was something about his character that never sat well with me. This proves my many suspicions about the guy.