COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former NBA player must pay $25,000 a month in child support after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled he missed the deadline to challenge a Lorain County magistrate judge’s order by one day.
The dispute stems from a brief relationship that began after Christian Wood, who last played power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, connected with Jedda Eggleston on social media in 2019. A photo of Eggleston went viral on Twitter, now known as X, and caught Wood’s attention.
The two later had a child in January 2021. Eggleston filed for child support that year in Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, and a county magistrate eventually set the amount at $25,000 per month, far above a $2,100-a-month figure as calculated by the state’s child support schedule.
The magistrate said the increase was in the child’s best interest, citing Wood’s substantial income and the lifestyle the child would have enjoyed if the parents had stayed together.
Wood, 30, signed a two-year, $5.7 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 after averaging 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds with the Dallas Mavericks the previous season. Records show he has earned [more than $50 million](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/earnings/_/id/18218/christian-wood) over his NBA career. He was waived by the Lakers in February and is not currently on an NBA roster.
Wood’s legal issue centered on timing. The magistrate filed his decision on Dec. 13, 2023, and mailed copies to both parties. Under Ohio rules, objections must be filed within 14 days of the decision being filed — not when it’s mailed.
Wood filed his objection Dec. 28, one day late, and argued that the mailing of the decision should have given him three additional days to respond.
The trial court rejected that argument and the Ohio 9th District Court of Appeals agreed.
Wood then unsuccessfully appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
“The plain language of (the rules) does not give parties to whom the clerk mails a magistrate’s decision an additional three days to file written objections,” wrote Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy in the unanimous decision.
Attorneys for Wood and Eggleston did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment.