A woman of 25 years is suing Dallas CowboysJerry Jones, her owner, claims that Jerry paid her mother hundreds and thousands of dollars in 1996 to cover up the fact that he was her biological dad. A secret that she says she has kept her whole life.
According to the lawsuit, the girl was 1 years old when she signed a confidentiality agreement with her mother.
In settlement documents, Jones claimed that he was not the biological father of the child. Jones did pay the woman $375,000 in exchange for confidentiality and had an Arkansas friend, Donald Jack, create two trusts for her daughter. These trusts were linked to Jones' mother. ESPN was able to obtain a copy.
After Jones' lawyer had filed a motion, a Texas judge sealed the case.
The Dallas Morning News was the first to report on the case earlier Wednesday.
Alexandra Davis, a Washington, D.C. resident, filed her lawsuit against Jones, now at 79, last Thursday in Dallas County court. According to the lawsuit, Jones was employed at the American Airlines ticket counter, Little Rock, Arkansas, as a clerk. The lawsuit claims that Spencer was divorced from her husband.
According to the lawsuit, Alexandra Davis has “lived her life without a father and secretly, fearing that if she told anyone about her father, she and her mother might lose financial support or worse.”
It states that Plaintiff had to bear the constant public profile of her father and siblings, while being forced to keep it secret from all her close confidants.
Jones and Gene have three children: Stephen, Jerry Jr. and Charlotte Jones Anderson.
Jones' spokesperson declined to comment. Andrew Bergman (Dallas-based attorney for Davis), also declined to comment.
Davis requested a court to recognize her as Jones' child and to release her from the confidentiality agreement she signed with Jones when she was just a baby.
According to the lawsuit, “It is hard for me to imagine what could possibly be less in a child's best interest than to enforce agreements that leave a children without a father or which prevent or punish a child even from identifying her father.”
Plaintiff Jones allegedly “abandoned, shunned”, Davis and forced her into secrecy following her December 16, 1996 birth in Little Rock.
Plaintiff claims that the combined effects of Cynthia's divorce proceedings and the agreements aforementioned resulted in Plaintiff not having a legal father. Plaintiff spent her entire life hiding her true father, adding insult to injury. Plaintiff was only ever allowed to know her true father by Defendant Jones.
The lawsuit claims that Davis “excelled academically as well as professionally” despite that. After 14 months of working in the Trump White House, she now works as an aide for U.S. Rep. Ronny.
The lawsuit claims that Cynthia Davis and Jones worked together after Davis' birth to hide his paternity.
“Defendant Jones was confronted by Plaintiff's literal existence and the personal and public ramifications thereof. He decided to make a deal to ensure that Plaintiff would not be publicly or privately identified as his father and/or declared to have been named and/or declared to be such a person.
The lawsuit claims that Cynthia Davis was going though a divorce at that time.
“Defendant Jones with the assistance of lawyers knew that Cynthia was now single with a young child and uncertain financial future. He set out to negotiate a settlement that would exchange silence for money (‘hush money ), the lawsuit states.
Jones is alleged that he set up two trusts which, according to the lawsuit, contained the “hush-money payment and the terms” as well as $375,000 for Spencer. According to the lawsuit, Jones agreed that he would “provide ongoing financial support to Cynthia and Plaintiff through indirect means and keeping his personal identity secret, so long as Cynthia did not disclose the fact that he is Plaintiff's father.” “If Cynthia fails to keep such silence, the support would terminate at the discretion of Defendant Jones and Cynthia would be allegedly in breach of the agreement.”
It was distributed to hundreds if Texas lawyers on Monday night, and the lawsuit was finally revealed. It was discovered by the team late Monday night. They rushed to court on Tuesday to persuade a judge that Davis' lawsuit should be sealed.
ESPN reported last month that the Cowboys reached a confidential $2.4 million settlement with four cheerleaders who had accused a former team executive of voyeurism within their locker room in September 2015. According to a 2016 settlement agreement and non-disclosure agreement, the cheerleaders accused Richard Dalrymple of using his security key card to enter the back door of their locked dressing room during an event at AT&T Stadium. One of the women claimed she saw Dalrymple, as he was standing behind a partially wall and his iPhone extended toward them while they were changing their clothes.
Another allegation was that a Cowboys supporter who was viewing a livestream of the NFL draft 2015 from their war room swore in anaffidavit that Dalrymple took “upskirts” photos Charlotte Jones Anderson.
ESPN reached out to Dalrymple but he did not respond. The team issued a statement calling both the allegations false.
