Dr. J. reveals in his new autobiography that a woman getting braces led to the conception of his daughter, Alexandra Stephenson. Seriously.
Julius Erving never had much of a relationship with Stephenson, a former professional tennis player, and the two only met in 2008 after Stephenson initiated the meeting. In his new book, Dr. J. says Stephenson was conceived because he slept with the girl’s mother one time instead of receiving his usual oral sex.
Dr. J. says he met Samantha Stephenson in 1978 when she was covering the 76ers for “Sport” magazine.
“She becomes someone who helps me unwind if I’m feeling high-strung or stressed. I can drive over and spend a relaxing evening that might even include oral sex,” Erving writes, per the New York Post’s Page Six. “I can only remember one time that we actually had intercourse, and that was because she had just gotten this new orthodontia to straighten her teeth. With wire and gleaming metal bristling in her mouth, oral sex was not an option.”
Much like when Jimmy Connors revealed in his autobiography that Chris Evert had an abortion, I’m not sure why Dr. J. chose to reveal this story. Did he not take into consideration the feelings of his daughter? What child wants to hear that they were only conceived because their mother got braces and couldn’t provide oral pleasure? I’m sure that will definitely help her self-esteem. Nice job, dad.
Stephenson achieved a high ranking of No. 18 in the world during her career. She was never able to replicate the success of reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999. That’s a lot of success considering she did it all without having a father around.
As this ESPN article on the relationship between Dr. J. and Stephenson recounts, Erving was married and wanted separate lives for him and Samantha and had nothing to do with his daughter. A lot of this had to do with protecting his image and the feelings of his wife, who supposedly didn’t want him having involvement with the child.
H/T The Big Lead
