Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Roberta A. Ballard from 1968-1969. Roberta Ballard's would end her education in San Francisco, CA at the Cardiovascular Research Institute doing a Neonatology Fellowship from 1970-1972. She would then stay in San Francisco as a professor of pediatrics at the University of California. Roberta Ballard would get her board certifications in 1972 through American Board of Pediatrics. Also through Sub-Board of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in 1975 and again in 1992. Roberta A. Ballard Roberta A. Ballard is recognized for her contributions to neonatal medicine. In 1965, she graduated from the University of Chicago's medical school and has dedicated much of her life to research