A 25-year-old Washington DC woman has filed suit against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, alleging that he is her father, the Dallas Morning News and ESPN reported on Wednesday.
Alexandra Davis, an aide for US congressman Ronny Jackson, alleges that Jones paid her mother $375,000 in 1996 to keep silent about the child’s paternity, though Jones did not admit to being the father. Jones also allegedly set up two trust funds for Alexandra Davis through an attorney in Arkansas, where Cynthia Davis, her mother, lived.
Alexandra Davis is asking the court in Dallas county to rule that the agreement between her mother and Jones is unenforceable in Texas and to confirm that Jones is her father. According to the Morning News, a hearing is scheduled for 31 March.
“It is hard to imagine what could be less in the best interest of a child than to enforce agreements that leave a child without a father and which prevent or legally punish a child from even stating who her father is,” the lawsuit says.
A spokesman for the 79-year-old Jones declined comment. Cynthia Davis also refused to comment to the Morning News.
Jones has been married to his wife, Gene, since 1963. They have three children together: Stephen, Jerry Jr and Charlotte, who all work for the Cowboys. Cynthia Davis was also married at the time of the purported affair but was estranged from her then husband.
The Morning News reported that Alexandra Davis and her mother starred in the final season of a Dallas-area reality showed called Big Rich Texas. At the time, representatives for Cynthia Davis said she was living off a trust fund. Alexandra Davis grew up in the Dallas area and graduated from Southern Methodist University. Jones has been in contact with Cynthia Davis, but he and Alexandra Davis have never met, the lawsuit said.
This is not the first time in recent months that the Cowboys have been in the news for non-football matters. In February, documents obtained by ESPN revealed the Cowboys paid a multimillion dollar settlement to members of their cheerleading squad after allegations that a senior team executive filmed them in the AT&T Stadium locker rooms.
Jones has a net worth of $10.7bn, according to Forbes, with his holdings headed by the Cowboys. The NFL team is valued by Forbes at $5.7bn, making it the most valuable sports team in the world, with only New York’s Yankees ($5.2bn) and Knicks ($5bn) also worth at least $5bn.