John Skelton responds to child support claims

John Skelton was like any fresh-faced high school quarterback, strutting around the hallways with a letterman jacket, everyone calling him friend and a grin that irritates, only because you're not him. Of course we're projecting our own fiction from a day when life was far less complicated, but not so much for Skelton, who left for college while his pregnant girlfriend stayed behind.

Seven years later, Skelton owes the mother of his daughter money.

The mother of John Skelton's daughter asked ABC-7 not to identify her. She got pregnant in high school, but after acknowledging and agreeing that he would become financially responsible for his then three year old daughter after college, she says John Skelton didn't seem to be sticking to his word.

After challenging whether or not he was actually the father, a paternity test confirmed his parentage. In 2010, according to an ABC-afflilate in El Paso, Texas, was ordered to pay $19,000 in 2010 after the Texas attorney general issued a Notice of Child Support Lien. KVIA explains that "records show Skelton was in and out of court and last spring, the court found there was an arrearage in child support of more than $19,000."

The Arizona Cardinals also held $267 a month out of his paycheck, but a judge later increased that to $2,000. Additionally:

The court ordered Skelton to pay the lump sum, as well as purchase health insurance for his daughter, and set up a life insurance policy on himself on his daughter's behalf. According to the mother of his child, earlier this year John Skelton told her he wanted to become a better father and have a more prominent role.

Skelton responded on Twitter Thursday.

I do not need to defend myself against erroneous, defaming information. People who know me, know the truth.

— John Skelton (@johnskelton19) May 30, 2013

Save for that tweet, ABC-7 and the Kentucky Post have been unable to get a response from Skelton's representatives.