Details of Super Bowl winner Aaron Donald’s frightening ordeal with an alleged stalker have been revealed in newly surfaced court files from Los Angeles County, where the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year admittedly feared for his family’s safety and his own.
Donald, a married father of three who was regarded as one of the toughest players in the NFL before retiring in 2024, filed the restraining order against his alleged stalker in April after what’s described in the court filings as years of unwanted harassment by the woman, whom he claims to have never met.
The woman, Janelle Anwar, is accused of sending threatening and harassing emails to the Donald family, according to court files obtained by Daily Mail. The Athletic first reported details of the temporary restraining order request.
Anwar is further accused of sending packages and balloons to Donald’s children, and travelled to Pittsburgh where he was holding a football camp, as she confirmed to Daily Mail on Wednesday.
Although Donald claims he’s never met Anwar, she nonetheless filed a pair of divorce petitions against him seeking millions of dollars.
Donald also received Google Chat messages from his alleged stalker that he took as a threat against his 3-year-old son, according to the temporary restraining order request.
Now retired, Aaron Donald filed a restraining order against his alleged stalker back in April
‘So make sure you pay for (him) to live … Cause that’s what it will be … You will have to pay for his life now and everyone will get a cut,’ the court papers claim that she wrote online.
Speaking to Daily Mail on Wednesday, Anwar denied ever stalking Donald, explaining that the two met over social media in 2023 – three years after the court papers allege the harassment supposedly began.
She alleged that Donald and his wife are not really married and that the wife of Rams coach Sean McVay is secretly missing – claims she also made to Donald’s attorney, Peter Lauzon, according to the TRO request.
McVay’s wife, Veronika, is not missing, Lauzon mentioned in the filing.
‘Ms. Anwar spoke in a very erratic and confused manner and claimed that Petitioner’s current wife and Petitioner were not married,’ Lauzon wrote in the filing.
‘Ms. Anwar further stated that Petitioner’s children have gone missing and that Petitioner should “be careful” and “to watch out.”
‘Ms. Anwar repeatedly asked me whether or not I had recently seen Sean McVay’s wife as she has been missing for months,’ Lauzon wrote. ‘I know this not to be true.’
The Athletic spoke with several professionals about the dangers celebrities face from stalkers.
Aaron Donald kisses his wife after winning Super Bowl LVI in February of 2022
‘One of the things that a lot of stalking survivors talk about, famous or otherwise, is the constant state of worry they had about what the person may or may not do, where they may or may not show up,’ Carlos Cuevas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University, told The Athletic.
‘The unpredictability is a big concern and … the content of what they’re saying. Some of it might be just more uncomfortable and some of it can be straight-up scary.’
A 2022 report to congress by the attorney general found that fewer than a third of all stalking victims reach out to authorities, fearing that such efforts could make the situation worse.
‘Stalking is challenging to police effectively as it is a pattern-based, rather than an incident-based crime,’ the report said. ‘Responding to stalking cases often necessitates specialized knowledge and is a significant investigative effort.’
Donald, a Super Bowl champion, left many NFL observers surprised when he retired from football last year at the age of 33.
Donald quit football last year, saying he no longer had the passion needed to keep playing
‘I’m burnt out. The best way to say it is I’m full, I’m complete. I’m satisfied with what I was able to do in 10 years,’ he said. ‘I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me.’
The defensive tackled was widely regarded as one of the very best to ever play in his position and since calling it a day, has frequently been asked to reconsider.
Just last week, he joked he would return for the Rams if they traded for Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys, who demaded a trade due to his ongoing contract standoff with the organization.
