Ohio parents of Olympic gold medalist suing her
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Ohio parents of Olympic gold medalist Tianna Madison have sued her, saying she spread stories they had been selfish and bullying and cheated her financially.
Elyria residents Robert and Jo Ann Madison filed the libel, slander and defamation lawsuit Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland. They say they've been loving, supportive and generous parents.
Tianna Madison was on the winning 4x100-meter relay track team at the Summer Olympics in London. She won the gold with Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter (JEH'-tur) in world record time. The lawsuit also names her husband, John Bartoletta.
The Tampa, Fla., couple have an unpublished phone number and couldn't be reached for comment Friday. The lawsuit doesn't mention an attorney representing them.
The parents' lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 each in compensatory and punitive damages.
Elyria residents Robert and Jo Ann Madison filed the libel, slander and defamation lawsuit Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland. They say they've been loving, supportive and generous parents.
Tianna Madison was on the winning 4x100-meter relay track team at the Summer Olympics in London. She won the gold with Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter (JEH'-tur) in world record time. The lawsuit also names her husband, John Bartoletta.
The Tampa, Fla., couple have an unpublished phone number and couldn't be reached for comment Friday. The lawsuit doesn't mention an attorney representing them.
The parents' lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 each in compensatory and punitive damages.
Hmmm... An old adage goes: "If you throw a stick into a pack of dogs, the one it hits will yelp!" Sounds to me like the accusation struck a resonant chord of some truth.
Wow just wow. nothing says love and affection like sueing your kid.Â
Go job proving the case for her! Hopefully the judge throws the case out.
Looks like they just proved her right.
I'm inclined to think that this would not have become common knowledge or even an issue if the parents hadn't made it so public. Obviously something has brought her to the point where she feels that way in which case maybe it's just better to just get on with their own lives and leave her alone. At the very least it would be nice to hear the other side. I'm also curious why they are suing her husband, did he say or do something?
Wow. What a pathetically sad story.
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Way to take the shine off all that hard work.
They say they've been loving, supportive and generous parents. Now gimme your Olympic money! LOLOLOLOLOL
Talk about some family laundry... (jeepers) Learn how to use a indoor dryer..... suing her child... good grief. ridiculous.
hmmm.... Isn't the monetary prize for the gold $25,000.00?
So to prove that you are not not a selfish bully, you sue your *own* daughter? This makes no sense. It only seems to prove that their daughter was right all along..
 @Wabbit Kind of a Catch-22 there isn't it, file a lawsuit for slander/libel/defamation of character after being accused of bullying people, and folks will say this proves it.
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What would you have them do if the charges against the daughter are true (slander/defamation)? No lawsuit?
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Dis-functional families FTW.
 @theToucan  @Wabbit You know, if they'd left out a request for financial compensation from her, it would have made them look a lot less money-grubbing, now wouldn't it?