"The Los Angeles Lakers say they are taking a harassment claim made by a woman against two of their players 'very seriously,'" Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com reported Monday.
On Tuesday, the team released a longer statement upon further investigation, via Serena Winters TWC Sports:
After the Lakers' 107-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night, Young and Clarkson addressed the accusations, calling the incident a "misunderstanding" with Clarkson calling the last day and a half "crazy," per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
Holmes noted one of the women Clarkson and Young allegedly harassed in Hollywood is Alexis Jones, an author and co-founder of the nonprofit I Am That Girl. Jones is "an activist trying to stop athletes from committing sexual harassment, sexual abuse and domestic violence," per Holmes, and I Am That Girl "aims to empower women."
The incident reportedly happened Sunday evening, when Jones and her 68-year-old mother were stopped at an intersection near La Brea and Melrose avenues. Jones said a Jeep carrying four men pulled up alongside their car, and the men then made "vulgar, sexual" gestures toward her mother, per Holmes.
Jones took pictures of the alleged offenders and posted them on Instagram (now deleted), where other users recognized Young and Clarkson as members of the Lakers. She also tweeted the images:
Ralph Amsden of Rivals.com took a screen capture of the initial Instagram post (Warning: Link contains NSFW language).
"I've been inspired by how the Lakers have responded," Jones said, per Holmes.
Jones noted that Black called her, apologized and offered to have her speak to the Lakers about respecting women since she has traveled the country to talk about the topi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
