Facebook/Naomi Lee Allen-Ward
The wife of a Super Bowl winner says her former New York Giant husband threatened to kill her in front of their daughter. TMZ broke the news that Naomi Lee Allen-Ward had gotten a restraining order against retired running back Derrick Ward. The documents, according to the gossip site, say that Derrick yelled at his wife, while she was helping their daughter, “You always have to f***ing say something! I hate you! I’ll kill you! I don’t care if I go to jail.” This past October, TMZ reports that Naomi says Derrick lunged at her, putting his hands around her throat while shouting, “You’re so f***ing stupid.” Naomi called the abuse consistent and said that it often happened in front of the couple’s children.
Naomi and Derrick were married in 2012. He hung up his pads in 2012 after a spell in Houston. Derrick is best remembered with his four seasons with the New York Giants between 2004 and 2008. The running back got a Super Bowl ring after the Giants defeated the Patriots at Super Bowl XLII in 2008.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Naomi Is Accusing Her Husband of Abusing Painkillers
Instagram/Naomi Lee Allen-Ward
The Blast reports that the couple’s fiery relationship came to a head on January 16 with Naomi dropping her kids at school before heading to court to get the restraining order. Quoting from court documents, the Blast says, “[Derrick] has explosive fits of anger, and he is still battling drug addiction to painkillers.” The restraining order says that Derrick has to stay more than 100 yards from Naomi and the couple’s two sons in addition to being forced to move out of their home.
The couple welcomed their first son, Xavier, in 2012, and second son in September 2016, according to their Baby Bump registry.
2. Naomi Appeared in Oscar-Winning Movie Dreamgirls
Naomi is a member of the all-girl R&B group Electrik Red. The band formed in 2005 and made their breakthrough when they signed with Def Jam records in 2008. The group was made up of Kyndra “Binkie” Reevey, Lesley Lewis, Sara Rosete and Naomi. The latter was the final piece of the group, Reevey, Lewis and Rosete met in high school in Toronto. It was Rosete who introduced Naomi to the group. During an interview with The Fader, the initial trio described “falling in love” with Naomi and inviting her to join the group.
Prior to launching the group, the four all appeared in music videos for artists such as Akon and Ludacris not to mention an appearance in 2006’s Oscar-winning Dreamgirls. The group has only released one album, How to Be a Lady: Volume 1, in 2009. Although problems with their label meant that their follow-up, How to Be a Lady: Volume 2, has yet to see the light of day. A Huffington Post review of their debut album referred to the group as “Not your mom’s all-girl R&B group.”
3. Naomi Studied Political Science at the University of Toronto
Instagram/Naomi Lee Allen-Ward
According to her Facebook page, Naomi is the CEO of Super Smart Social, a marketing company that was formed in 2016. Naomi’s page also lists her as a singer/songwriter in Electrik Red. Naomi, who is of Jamaican and English heritage, is a native of Toronto but now lives in Van Nuys, California. On that same page, Naomi says that she produced the TV show G’s to Gents for MTV, that ran for two seasons. Her About section concludes with the line, “Naomi is currently working on several writing projects, developing/producing television concepts, while pursuing a career in acting.” While on her LinkedIn page, Naomi says she also worked in sales for the Line Hotel in Los Angeles and is the assistant director of a dentistry hospital, Alpan Orthodontics. Naomi also studied political science at the University of Toronto.
4. Derrick Attracted Controversy for Homophobic Statements in 2014
In 2014, when Michael Sam was drafted into the NFL by the St. Louis Rams, Derrick Ward took issue with Sam’s celebrations. Sam kissed his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano, when he heard the news. After that, Derrick wrote on Twitter, “Man u got little kids lookin at the draft. I can’t believe ESPN allowed that to happen.” After experiencing some blowback, Derrick wrote, “Everyone who comments on my page saying what dude did was fine is getting blocked. So far I’ve blocked 10 people.”
5. Famously, Derrick Ward Once Knocked Boots With Khloe Kardashian
Getty
Derrick had a reputation as something of a playboy during his bachelor days. In 2009, Derrick Ward was famously linked to Khloe Kardashian. US Weekly says the pair were seen together in Mexico where Khloe was celebrating Kourtney’s 30th birthday.
In 2016, XXL Magazine reported that Derrick got into a heated Twitter beef with rapper Joe Budden. The allegation at the time was the Derrick had slept with Budden’s girlfriend, Esther Baxter, which caused their break-up.
