Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Sued by Woman Over Alleged Paternity

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is being sued by a 25-year-old woman, who is alleging that he paid her mother hundreds of thousands of dollars in 1996 to conceal that he was the girl’s biological father, according to ESPN. The woman was bound to secrecy by a confidentiality agreement signed by her mother, the lawsuit states. 

In the settlement documents, Jones denied that he is the biological father. But he did pay the woman $375,000 “in exchange for confidentiality,” leading to two trust funds being set up for the girl linked to her and her mother, keeping Jones’ paternity a secret. The case was sealed this week after Jones’ lawyer filed a motion. The Dallas Morning News was the first to report on the lawsuit. 

The woman, Alexandra Davis, who lives in Washington D.C., filed the lawsuit in Dallas County court last Thursday. The lawsuit states her mother, Cynthia Davis Spencer, was courted by Jones in 1995 when she was working at the American Airlines ticket counter in Little Rock, Arkansas. At that time, Spencer was estranged from her husband. 

The lawsuit also says that Davis “has lived her life fatherless and in secret and in fear that if she should tell anyone who her father was, she and her mother would lose financial support, or worse. Plaintiff has had to endure the endless public profiles of her father and siblings while forced to remain secret to everyone, including her closest confidants.” Davis asked the court to be recognized as Jones’ daughter and to be released from the confidentiality agreement. 

“The combined effects of the aforementioned agreements and Cynthia’s divorce proceedings resulted in Plaintiff never having a legal father,” the lawsuit says. “To add incredible insult to injury, Plaintiff has had to spend her entire life hiding and concealing who her real father is. Defendant Jones’ only role in Plaintiff’s life to date other than to shun her, has been to coerce her from ever disclosing his identity.”

The lawsuit states that Davis has “excelled academically and professionally.” She currently works as an aide to U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas after working 14 months in the White House when Donald Trump was president. Jones, who has not commented on the lawsuit, has been the Cowboys’ owner since 1989 and has seen the team win three Super Bowls during his tenure.