Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says paternity suit was filed after extortion attempt

A woman who has alleged in a lawsuit that Jerry Jones is her father attempted before its filing to extort money from the Dallas Cowboys owner, Jones’ attorneys wrote in a court document whose contents were reported on Monday by the Dallas Morning News.

Alexandra Davis filed the lawsuit earlier this month as Jones and the Cowboys were facing “monetary extortion attempts,” according to the newspaper’s account of the Jones response document that seeks the lawsuit’s dismissal.

Davis’ lawsuit was filed in an improper court, the Jones response filing also argues. Because of the parentage allegations, the lawsuit should be considered in family court, not civil court, it argues.

ESPN reported that Andrew Bergman, an attorney for Davis, said, “I would challenge Jerry Jones to put up any evidence that anyone demanded any money, period. It’s a shame that Jerry Jones wants to further damage his own daughter by now claiming she is extorting him. I challenge them to put up any evidence that supports either one of these defamatory and false claims.”

The network reported that Bergman provided it with a letter that he sent on Jan. 5 to Jones.

“I do not feel that it is necessary to go into any detail in explaining why Alexandra believes you are her biological father,” Bergman wrote. “However, Alexandra is more than willing to participate in genetic determination. Texas law provides a relatively simple, non-intrusive, inexpensive, quick procedure for establishing parentage if you are willing to cooperate.”

Bergman wrote that if he did not receive a response from Jones in seven days, “he would proceed with legal action to force Jones to acknowledge he is the woman’s father,” ESPN reported.

In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Monday in Palm Beach, Florida, at an NFL scouting combine, Jones declined to comment on the paternity lawsuit. He said that it was a personal issue.

The lawsuit alleges that Alexandra Davis’ mother, Cynthia Davis, had a relationship with Jones in the mid-1990s, leading to her birth, and Cynthia Davis reached a financial settlement with Jones to support her and her child as long as they did not publicly identify Jones as the father, the Dallas Morning News reported. Alexandra Davis, a 25-year-old congressional aide from North Texas, requested that the court find she is not legally bound by that agreement if she can prove that he is actually her father.

The lawsuit was filed on March 3, according to court records. A hearing on whether the case should continue to be sealed is scheduled for March 31 in 192nd District Court in Dallas County.