Whether you are a football star with a top-rated NFL team or a father in Richmond, Virginia, you most likely want access to and custody of your child after a divorce. Just because you are no longer in a relationship with your child's mother doesn't mean that you no longer want to see your son or daughter. Sometimes you may only get visitation rights, but it is increasingly common for fathers to seek some type of physical custody over their children so that they can continue to develop their relationships with their children.

It seems that Antonio Brown, a receiver and team MVP for the Steelers, was trying to spend time with his son, but will now be facing off against the child's mother for continued physical custody. The boy's mother has alleged that the football player took custody of their son without her permission. The mother filed a child custody dispute with the court and is seeking to have the former couple's son returned to her.

Despite the mother's claim that she did not know where her son was and that she hadn't had any contact with him since he left with his father, Brown's lawyer told reporters that Brown had recently planned to bring the mother to Pittsburgh to visit the child. According to the lawyer, the mother is merely trying to get money from Brown.

Child custody is often difficult to sort out because of parents' high emotions. Parents may not have a cordial relationship with their children's other parent, but must continue to organize visitation or joint-custody drop-offs. Working with an attorney with many years of family law experience can help to smooth out some of those interactions, however. While courts traditionally gave custody to a mother, it is still important for fathers to work with a strong lawyer, even as laws become friendlier to single-fathers.

Source: WTAE Pittsburgh, "Antonio Brown Says He's A Good Dad," Jan. 5, 2012