NEW YORK — Former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell has denied raping a woman who was awarded a $25 million default judgment after accusing the 33-year-old athlete of sexually abusing her when she was a child.

Jada Bell, who says she’s the younger cousin of the former footballer, filed a lawsuit in March 2024 alleging the defendant began forcing her into nonconsensual incest when she was around 7 years old and he was roughly 14, according to TMZ.

She claimed the abuse continued for about a decade, even when he was a star at Michigan State University and she lived in Ohio.

After Bell “failed to move, plead or otherwise appear” in court, a judge issued a default judgment in the victim’s favor last fall. A trial was held earlier this month to determine damages, during which a jury awarded the plaintiff a heavy six-figure sum.

An attorney for Bell told TMZ on Tuesday that his client was never served with a civil complaint “or any documents,” and vehemently denies the claims made against him. His lawyer plans to seek reversal of the judgment on the grounds the defense wasn’t given an opportunity to make its case.

Bell began his NFL career in 2013 and spent his prime years with the Pittsburgh Steelers before coming to New York in 2019. He spent one mediocre season with the Jets, followed by a partial second one that ended with the team cutting him loose after a handful of games.

After brief stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he left the NFL in 2022 and has since pursued a professional boxing career.

As of Tuesday, Bell had not addressed the judgment against him on social media. He did, however, claim that being “a Black man and a Trump supporter at the same time” causes people to attack him for reasons he can’t comprehend.