Mark Jackson, Golden State Warriors coach, claims he was extorted over affair
(CBS/AP) OAKLAND, Calif. - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Thursday that he and his family were the targets of an extortion attempt related to an extramarital affair he had six years ago.
The Smoking Gun reported that a 28-year-old former stripper, Alexis Adams, possessed nude photographs of Jackson and wanted money to keep the photos from becoming public.
Adams and an alleged co-conspirator, 40-year-old Marcus Shaw, were named in felony criminal complaints for their alleged roles in an extortion scheme, according to online records filed with the U.S. District Court in Oakland. The documents don't identify the victim but The Smoking Gun said "V1," as the victim is referred to in documents, is Jackson.
Adams was released on $25,000 bail but Shaw remained behind bars because he has a prior conviction for aggravated robbery in Tennessee in 1996, for which he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to court records. He also was arrested in Georgia in 2005 for investigation of murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping, "though the case was ultimately dismissed," according to an affidavit filed in the case by FBI Special Agent Beth F. Alvarez.
In a statement released by the team, Jackson said the extramarital affair occurred when he was still working as an ESPN/ABC broadcaster. He called the affair "embarrassing" and apologized for it.
Jackson said a man approached him this past April 3 at the team hotel in Memphis when Golden State was there to play the Grizzlies and demanded "a substantial sum of money" or he'd sell "personal information" to a tabloid.
Jackson said he "regrettably" paid the man, calling it "a terrible lapse in judgment and a course of action I would not recommend to anyone." Court documents show he handed over $5,000.
After the man emailed him two weeks later and called his wife asking for more money, Jackson said, he informed the team about the situation. The Warriors said they immediately contacted the FBI.
Jackson said he made his wife, Desiree, aware of the affair years ago and the two reconciled.