MANILA, Philippines – The Los Angeles Lakers are investigating claims of harassment against two of its players, Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson and Nick Young, ESPN reported Tuesday, March 22 (Monday, March 21 in the US).
According to the report, a woman named Alexis Jones, who is an activist campaigning against sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and domestic violence on women by athletes, claimed she and her 68-year-old mother were harassed by players riding a jeep Sunday in Hollywood.
Jones, who is a co-founder of I AM THAT GIRL– described on its website as "a movement inspiring girls to love, express, and be exactly who they are" – posted a photo collage on her Instagram account of the 3 men. Commenters then identified two of them as Clarkson and Young.
Jones relayed the encounter in the post saying, "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."
"They were laughing hysterically until they realized I was filming them and immediately they panicked like the cowards they are," she wrote.
ESPN reports that according to Lakers spokesman John Black, the team is taking the incident "very seriously" and is investigating "but does not have any further comment at this time."
According to the report, Black already phoned Jones and apologized to her on behalf of the Lakers and suggested she talk to the team about her campaign.
Lakers coach Byron Scott is "aware of the situation and has addressed it with the two players." The team reportedly offered to have Jones speak with Clarkson and Young but was unable to do so. A request for a phone call with the players has been denied.
"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," Jones also said on her Instagram post.
"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."
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BDMtdzmKTB5/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">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 #realmenrespectwomen #messedwiththewrongchick #wewillfindyou @iamthatgirl</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Alexis Jones (@missalexisjones) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-03-21T02:38:36+00:00">Mar 20, 2016 at 7:38pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
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– Rappler.com