Alexis Jones is a liar. I’ve based this firmly on circumstantial evidence. A quick synopsis: Jones is a women’s rights activist who gives speeches at various conferences and summits and tries to sell her book. She targets large institutions to capitalize on a general wariness of not wanting the bad publicity of seeming insensitive to her cause and they pay her to come impart unimpressive platitudes such as “That’s when I removed the word impossible from my vocabulary.” Wow, that’s great stuff. It’s tantamount to extortion and Jones has leveraged this tactic to her advantage. Her current endeavor focuses on male athletics, where she visits locker rooms and discusses sexual harassment and similar topics. She has recently visited the USC, UCLA, and the University of Texas Male Football Teams, as her website advertises. The gender distinction is unnecessary because there are no female football teams, but I digress.

According to Jones, she was driving in her car with her mother in Los Angeles when three unidentified males pulled up next to her car and began verbally harassing them and made “disgustingly vulgar gestures” which she won’t elaborate on. The phenomenon of whistleblower who won’t fully explain the situation they are blowing the whistle on seems specific to dubious claims exploiting progressive ideals. Isn’t your whole point to get the information out there? Jones claims that her mother began sobbing and shaking and so she took video of the three men and then presumably drove away. If your mother has this kind of reaction to a hand gesture on a busy street she obviously has an untreated anxiety disorder or is incredibly racist or mentally ill in some way. You don’t live to be 80 years old if you’re that easy to crack. There’s not that much power in five fingers. I would never excuse the kind of behavior she’s alleging, I just don’t think it happened.

Jones is active on social media as you’d expect, as she uses it to promote her brand. She posted the photo along with the following caption (I added the bolds):

“I pray these pics go viral because THIS is the problem with little boys. Five minutes ago, at the intersection of Melrose and La Bre here in LA, a jeep of four boys pulled up at a red light and started yelling and making the most disgustingly vulgar gestures at my mom and me. I rarely “rant” about things but this is the f%+#ing problem and the reason I’ve now dedicated my life to educating young men about respect, not just for women but for everyone. I’m angry. I’m insulted. I’m hurt. They were laughing hysterically until they realized I was filming them and immediately they panicked like the cowards they are. Thank you to all the real men out there who would never treat a mother and daughter that way… Speaking of, I’d love for this to make it back to their mothers!!! Help me find who these guys are!!! Let’s see the power of social media and hold them accountable. I’d LOVE to have a candid conversation with them about sexual harassment not simply to shame them, but to understand their mentality so we can better educate young men to be respectful in the future. #littleboys #cowards.”

The photos don’t show them doing anything. How is a completely neutral photo in any way incriminating? You could caption it with anything. Evidence suggests Jones wasn’t filming, as she claims, but taking still photos. You’ll notice the photos are slightly blurry, and the top left one of Jordan Clarkson has a red spot in the middle, a camera reflection. Wouldn’t this suggest she was shooting through a window that was rolled up? How did she know what they were saying then? On a side note, if your life’s goal is apparently rooted in politically correct interaction, why refer to grown men as little boys? Especially black guys. They must have mentioned something about the historically racist significance of that idiom at USC, no? Is it hypocritical to promote sensitivity while simultaneously using condescending verbiage to others? Do you see equality as one sided or do you get special privileges, you fickle bitch. I’m personally offended so I assume it’s acceptable to be demeaning.

Jones claims to not know who Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson are. They play for the Lakers. Two days before this happened, Jones contacted the NBA in an effort to secure some speaking deals. She lives in Los Angeles where the Lakers play and has a long history of working in sports media including stints at ESPN and Fox Sports. She also went to USC at the same time as Nick Young, and while attending USC founded a website called InsideUSC.com which reported primarily on USC football and basketball. She also reportedly followed Young and Clarkson on Instagram prior to this event, although she claims she started following them after they were identified. Regardless, she knew who they were. She is lying.

I reached out to Jones and was told that she would not be granting any interviews, but she has issued a statement through her speaking agency, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment:

“I created the ProtectHer program out of an urgency to address the ever-growing issues of domestic abuse and sexual assault in athletics. I’ve had the immense pleasure of working with teams at colleges like USC, UCLA, UT, UW, Iowa State, University of Florida, TCU, Liberty University, UGA and University of MN to help them understand the positive ways in which they should interact with women, to help them be the types of role models they want to be, and how to create the legacy they want to leave. In short, athletes are my friends, colleagues and heroes. If I had known that the car that pulled up next to me on Sunday contained athletes, I honestly wouldn’t have posted the photo. I wanted whoever was in that photo to know the effect of actions like this on a woman when she experiences this type of verbal assault. And I promise you that if I wanted to be famous for something, this is certainly not what I would choose to be known for. Now, I just want to be a partner who helps these athletes and others realize the opportunity and enormous responsibility they have to protect and respect the women in their lives, whether it’s their mother, sister or a 68-year-old woman at a stoplight. I hope these guys will take me up on my invitation to have a conversation, put this issue behind us and talk about their bright futures.”

Again, even though Jones is a veritable industry insider, she had no idea these were professional athletes. Even as a layperson, what do you think of when you see a couple 6’5″ black guys in a Range Rover? Wouldn’t you think given her extensive background, that she could pick a couple of them out? Given Jones was calling the NBA two days before, is it a coincidence that she is now advocating meeting with the players she claims sexually harassed her? The day after ESPN reported the story she was right on top of it:

Clearly her motive is there. If this went down the way Jones says, it’s a coincidence of serendipitous fate that would rival any 90’s era Tom Hanks film. I like believing in crazy stories but when there’s a clear advantage in terms of financial gain and career opportunity I’m more than suspect. A representative at Tri Star Sports & Entertainment, Danielle Gano, responded to my request for comment:

“I don’t agree that it sounds suspicious, but it is undeniably a surprising coincidence. She did attend USC at the same time as Nick over a decade ago. Do you recognize everyone you went to school with? Further, do you recognize everyone who works in media since you’re a journalist? I don’t mean to be condescending here at all – just trying to help you see that these types of critiques don’t by any means prove a point… If she had had any idea these guys were professional athletes, she would have never posted that photo. She would have gone directly to the team, behind closed doors. Have you given any thought to why is it that when a woman makes a claim about a man committing sexual assault or harassment, people automatically turn the blame to the woman, accusing her of wanting fame or money? Or why a daughter would make up that her 68-year-old mother was harassed – and her mother would agree? Or why there are five thousand comments on her Instagram, more than half of them calling her a liar, a vulgar name, threatening her and wishing her dead? Why do you think she would intentionally subject herself to this treatment? Let’s get beyond the gossip of this situation and talk about what is wrong with our society that has led us here.“

Gano also noted that “We have turned down over 100 interviews.” That doesn’t sound like the Alexis Jones I know. Why the sudden change in behavior? I asked Gano if there was a statement from the mother and she said “I don’t have an official statement from her, no.” I don’t know if a person without self interest would go directly to the Lakers if two of their players made unspecified hand gestures at them. They might even forget about it, given the lack of tangible effect. As to why she would make this up, probably because it would directly benefit her for this to have happened. I don’t think people automatically turn a sexual harassment claim around on the woman who is making it. I think you have look at the character of the person. Jones was a contestant on Survivor. Do people not seeking publicity often appear on reality TV? Isn’t the point of Survivor to screw everyone over and make it to the top, most often through manipulating others? What attracted her to this show?

People are calling her a liar and other vulgar names, because she is a liar and she deserves to be called whatever word one sees fit. Moreso than Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson deserve to be called “little boys” when all evidence outside of Jones account (which the Lakers issued a statement saying they don’t believe in many more words) points to them doing nothing more than sitting in a car and laughing at, most likely, the rabid asshole who was snapping photos of them.

I’m going to posit a theory as to Gano’s ethereal question of “what is wrong with society that has led us here?”

Narcissism, reality TV and Twitter. People exactly like Alexis Jones. This shouldn’t be let go. Jones is truly the most horrendous caliber of person in the world. When you exploit, twist, and warp an important cause for your personal agenda, you do a great disservice to the cause itself and the actual victims. It becomes that much easier to label someone a false accuser, and that much more appropriate to doubt an accusation. This behavior is not unheard of, it’s just much more common in the age of social media. Morton Downey Jr carved a swastika into his forehead at LAX and claimed he was attacked by white supremacists. He was a media whore. Sexual assault shouldn’t be an industry. There are no ethics in commercialism. Jones doesn’t care about gender equality, she cares about her brand. Let’s hope it is widely presumed to be tarnished beyond recognition. A snippet from Jones’ promotional material:

“Alexis Jones starts what becomes an ongoing dialogue, asking young men the simple question, What kind of man will you choose to be?”

Only someone with the hubris to think they have the authority to instruct other people, particularly of the opposite sex, on how to act would be capable of something like this. What kind of woman have you chosen to be? A disgusting pig. She deserves shame, ridicule, and whatever non-sexualized hand gestures you can muster up. I can think of one, although, use your imagination.