Chris Bosh Did Not Have A Good Birthday

The Toronto Raptors center turned 25 years old today, but I doubt that the gift he received was on his wish list—news has leaked of a lawsuit accusing him of being a deadbeat dad.

According to court papers filed in Maryland, Chris Bosh and his ex-girlfriend, Allison Mathis, were living together last year when they agreed to have a baby. She alleges that all was going well, until he returned from the Beijing Olympics in August—when she was already seven month pregnant—and he decided to end the relationship and kick her out of the home. She also claims that the stress of the situation, as well as his refusal to support her, led to complications with the pregnancy. (The baby was born via C-section in November and has only been in the same room with Bosh twice.)

Interestingly, the Toronto Star ties the lawsuit to Bosh's performance on the court, pointing out that his fortunes (and the Raptors') declined dramatically once he learned of it:

But Mathis filed suit on Nov. 26, 2008, and, not long after, Bosh and the Raptors fell into an abyss. Bosh, who averaged 26 points a game on 54 per cent shooting in November, averaged 21 points a game on 44 per cent shooting in December, and the team he leads, after putting together a win-loss record of 8-8 in October and November, went 4-12 for December, a stretch of abysmal play that saw coach Sam Mitchell fired and a hotly anticipated season began to disintegrate into its current tatters.

Ouch. Bosh denies the allegations in the suit and says he will " take care of my responsibilities," but this whole incident may also explain Bosh's curious choice for his favorite movie:

Raptor Bosh a deadbeat dad, lawsuit says [Toronto Star] Hmmmmm..... You Got Served it is!!! [Hugging Harold Reynolds] Chris Bosh's 25th Birthday Bash [My HogTown]