Legal experts and women’s rights advocates disagree about how important a mother’s work schedule should be in such cases.
Macomb County (Mich.) Chief Judge Peter J. Maceroni ruled this week that McGee’s ex-husband, the Rev. Kevin E. Stafford of Mount Clemens, will have temporary custody of their daughter, Imani , while a Friend of the Court investigation is underway. This investigation could take four to 12 weeks.
Stafford’s attorney, Peter Lucido, said the father has been in temporary custody since the beginning of the year and that McGee saw Imani for 14 days this year.
Lucido said there were concerns about McGee’s travel schedule. He said Imani missed her first day of preschool Tuesday because McGee, a starting forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, delayed returning to her father. Imani lived with her mother in her grandmother’s house in Flint. McGee also has a 10-year-old son.
“The whole problem now is, it’s his career,” Lucido said. “There are a lot of sacrifices you have to make to be a good basketball player. You also have to make a lot of sacrifices to be a good parent.
“I’m not saying she can’t be a parent because she plays basketball. But Imani needs her to be a guide, a teacher. She needs her affection and her moral education.”
McGee was not immediately available for comment. Her mother, Diane McGee, said Stafford requested temporary custody to keep Imani in the state.
McGee “cried every time she had to leave her baby,” Diane McGee said. “People seem to think that since she’s been playing for the WNBA, she’s making money in the NBA. That’s not the case. It hurts her financially to come back here. He’s here with Imani, but his opportunities are back in California.”
McGee, 35, played in Europe and Brazil for several years, but stopped playing after marrying Stafford in 1995. In a 1997 interview with the Detroit News, McGee said she stopped playing because her husband had asked her.
After the couple divorced in 1996, they agreed to share custody while negotiating permanent custody. McGee began playing again, joining the Sacramento Monarchs for the first WNBA season.
Nine WNBA players have children, and their professions were never in question during custody hearings, WNBA spokeswoman Alice McGillion said. Baseball A Little Pain Is Worth Earning
A dive from the stands was worth the bumps and bruises for the 24-year-old fan who ended up with Mark McGwire’s 64th home run Friday night in Milwaukee.
Jason King, a server from Madison, Wisconsin, isn’t sure what he’ll do with the prize. For now, he’s bringing the ball home.
“Got it!” said the king. “A dream come true.”
When McGwire’s 417-foot shot took an exit tunnel into the left-center stands, King left his aisle seat to retrieve it. Auto racing Kenseth wins MBNA Gold 200
Matt Kenseth prepared for his first Winston Cup start by leading 158 of 200 laps and holding off determined rookie Kevin Grubb to win the MBNA Gold 200 Busch Series race in Dover, Del.
The win put Kenseth 43 points ahead of Busch series leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has a 97-point lead after 26 of 31 races. Earnhardt finished eighth. Football No punishment for the Saints
The NFL will not sanction the New Orleans Saints for hazing that occurred at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where the team holds its training camp.
“Our office has completed its review of the Saints training camp incident and that review provides no basis for the commissioner to take disciplinary action within the league,” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a written statement. Tennis Spain, Switzerland Draw
Motivated by a frenzied crowd, Martina Hingis beat Conchita Martinez to draw Switzerland level with Spain after two matches in the Fed Cup World Group Final in Geneva.
Hingis, the world’s No. 1 player, scored a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Martinez in front of a raucous 12,000 packed crowd at Palexpo. That made up for French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario’s 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Patty Schnyder.
The 1-1 draw set the stage for a tense reverse singles showdown today. . . .
US Open champion Patrick Rafter is threatening to quit Australia’s Davis Cup team if captain John Newcombe or coach Tony Roche resigns over a row with losing finalist Mark Philippoussis.
“If these guys leave, I’m going to resign too,” Rafter told the Brisbane Sunday Mail newspaper. Roche indicated this week that he may resign after Philippoussis, who recently refused to play in the Davis Cup, accused him of showing bias towards Rafter by sitting in Rafter’s box during the final of the Davis Cup. ‘Open.
Newcombe responded by saying that if Roche left, he would leave too.
“By the time this hits the paper, it will be a veritable dogfight in the skies.” –Brigham Young athletic director Rondo Fehlberg after the Cougars’ charter flight to Seattle was forced to dive 500 feet in order to avoid a military plane. CAPTION: While awaiting the court’s decision, the WNBA’s Pamela McGee delivered her daughter. This
