A new court filing claims that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, his longtime lawyer Donald P. Jack, and team employee Jim Wilkinson colluded with an ESPN writer and other media outlets to defame a woman claiming she is the illegitimate daughter of the NFL boss.
The Cowboys are in the midst of another strong season as the team enters Week 13 with an 8-3 record. However, there has been an ongoing off-the-field issue for their owner Jerry Jones. Earlier this year, Alexandra Davis sued the 81-year-old to seek recognition as his biological daughter. But last month Federal Judge Robert W. Schroeder III threw out the case, saying that ESPN articles used in the claim had statements that were actually true or not defamatory.
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However, the ruling did leave the door open for Davis’ attorneys to make a revised filing about comments that appeared in one of the two ESPN articles originally on published March 31 of last year. Well, on Tuesday a new defamation complaint was made that had some interesting allegations about a supposed media smear campaign against Davis.
Dallas Cowboys owner allegedly coordinated smear campaign with ESPN writer
An ESPN report on the latest filing revealed claims that the three defendants “were additionally closely working with” ESPN reporter Don Van Natta Jr. to damage Davis’ reputation via statements they gave in the March article. The filing also says the Dallas Cowboys owner and the two other defendants worked with other media companies “to ensure all news outlets reported the statements Defendant Wilkinson had given to Van Natta.”
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In an attempt to add more weight to the new filing, Davis’ attorneys also suggest that Jones and his associates tried to link her to a “‘conspiracy’ with others supposedly attempting to extort money from the Jones family.” Four former Cowboys cheerleaders sued the organization in 2015 after accusing an executive of recording a video of them undressing in their locker room.
Jones reportedly settled the case with a secret $2.4 million payment.
Davis is trying to establish paternity and has asked to be released from the confidentiality agreement that her mother agreed to when she was a baby. Last year, the court ordered Jerry Jones to submit to a paternity test but the Cowboys boss has yet to take the exam.