Former Penn State football player turned NFL pro Ki-Jana Carter is being sued by Penn State Health for failing to fulfill a deal to supply surgical masks during the shortage of protective equipment in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Penn Live’s Matt Miller, the former New Orleans Saints player reached out to Penn State Health on behalf of his company ByoGlobe LLC to arrange the sale of 300,000 masks in late March. Penn State Health says that they paid $2.4 million for the masks that never arrived. When they asked Carter about the essential face coverings in April, he said they were en route before adding that the masks were delayed due to his company changing suppliers.
“Penn State Health claims Carter and ByoGlobe never actually had the connections or expertise to make good on the mask deal. It says it demanded a refund of the full amount of the contract in May,” Miller wrote in his article.
He also revealed that there was no escrow account, nor was there a performance bond. Therefore, the refund for the failed mask deal has trickled in. Currently, $935,000 is still owed, and there have been no payments from Carter since July.
Carter spent three seasons with Penn State’s Nittany Lions. He went on to become the No. 1 draft pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. The now 47-year-old played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, and New Orleans Saints but was forced to end his career due to an ACL injury. He has not yet commented on the claims against him.