Lakers looking into incident with Young, Clarkson
The Los Angeles Lakers say they are taking a harassment claim made by a woman against two of their players “very seriously.”
Alexis Jones, an activist trying to stop athletes from committing sexual harassment, sexual abuse and domestic violence, said two players — later identified online as Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson — harassed her and another woman Sunday night in Hollywood.
Jones, an author and co-founder of the nonprofit I AM THAT GIRL, which aims to empower women, said in an interview Monday that the incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of La Brea and Melrose avenues in Hollywood.
Lakers spokesman John Black told ESPN on Monday that the team takes this matter “very seriously” and is looking into it but does not have any further comment at this time.
Jones said following dinner she and her 68-year-old mother stopped their vehicle at the intersection, where a Jeep with four men pulled up alongside them. According to Jones, the men inside the Jeep began making “vulgar, sexual” gestures toward her mother.
“She was super rattled. That’s the truth. It scared her,” Jones said. “We were in a small car, and they were in a big Jeep, and it was a bunch of big dudes. They’re leaning out of the car and making vulgar, sexual gestures. My mom was really shocked. That immediately turned into sobbing.”
Jones added, “The irony is I created a program called ‘ProtectHer’ out of the urgency to address sexual abuse in athletics, and I was on phone calls with the NBA as of Friday talking with them about integrating this message and this program into the NBA.”
Jones, an Austin, Texas, native and University of Southern California graduate, said she took pictures of the men with her phone and posted them to Instagram, where commenters immediately identified two of them as Young and Clarkson.
Around 8:30 a.m. Monday, Jones said she received a call from Black, who she said apologized on behalf of the Lakers. Jones said Black suggested the possibility of Jones speaking to the Lakers about the topic she has spent the past two-and-a-half years traveling the U.S. to speak to collegiate athletes about: respect and treatment of women.
“I’ve been inspired by how the Lakers have responded,” she said.
Black said Lakers head coach Byron Scott is aware of the situation and has addressed it with the two players. Later Monday afternoon, Jones said the Lakers offered to have her come in to speak with Clarkson and Young, but she was unable to. She said she requested a call with them to talk through the issue and hopefully receive an apology, but that request was declined.
“I’m not special. This is happening to women everywhere,” Jones said. “I’m not here to shame them. That’s the last thing I want to do … I don’t want to crucify them. I want to use it as an opportunity to change behavior.”
