When The Ex-NFLer Fought The Struggling Writer Over $28

Remember Anthony Parker? Yeah, me either. But the former 49ers and Raiders cornerback sic'ed his lawyer on a freelance writer he stiffed out of $28. Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just pay the money from the beginning?

Parker's trying to start a personal training business, and he went to a message board where freelancers can be hired for pennies on the dollar (mostly recent grads, looking for any kind of paycheck). He contracted Cara De Carlo, author of the Deadspin Master's Thesis, to write up some copy for his website. They agreed on $28 as a fair price.

For whatever reason, it didn't work out. (Instructions like "just like Don Beebe, list my cordentials" probably didn't help. De Carlo wrote up the experience and chalked it up as a life lesson. Three months later, she heard from Parker. Or rather, his representation, demanding the post be taken down. In exchange, Parker would pay the money owed for the work.

She agreed, so Anthony Parker avoids having a not-so-nice description of him pop up in his Google search results. And De Carlo gets her $28. A happy ending, though Parker's "Get-N-Shape" Personal Training's online presence looks like it could benefit from $28 worth of work.