According to The Smoking Gun,  ex-NBA star and current coach of the Golden State Warriors Mark Jackson has just ended a seven year extortion ordeal through a settlement.

Now sit back and tell me what writer could come up with THIS story.

Seven years ago, while then 41 year old Mark Jackson was a commentator for the New Jersey Nets, he engaged in an extramarital affair with then 22 year old Alexis Adams while she worked at a New York gentleman’s club.

According to federal investigators, in April of 2012 Jackson was approached by ex-con Marcus Shaw who revealed naked pictures and recorded voicemails from the coach during his affair with Adams. Jackson then paid $5,000 in cash for the incriminating files which he destroyed afterwards.

Then things get real House of Cards-ish.

A few weeks after the exchange, Adams posed as a “Mark Smith” in the “reputation management business” when she contacted Jackson’s wife via email to extort more money. As this faux business man, Shaw threatened to release the pictures to the public if the wife did not buy the files for upwards of $200,000.

Adams and Shaw were later arrested after Jackson contacted the FBI. Shaw pleaded guilty to participating in extorting Jackson.

Adams has agreed to a plea deal that will result in her applying to enter a pretrial diversion program, avoiding her scheduled May 3rd trial. Adams has to be accepted by the Pretrial Services officials and after completion of the program the charges would be dropped.

Last April, around the time the extortion plot began, Jackson’s Warriors were ending their eventual 23-43 season missing the playoffs. After the last game, Jackson said this to NBA.com about the failed season:

“Tough one. Obviously, disappointing to the extent that we made a promise – a promise that we did not fulfill. Which is fine. If I had to do it over again I would do it the exact same way.”

A year later and the 47-35 Golden State Warriors are one win away from winning their first playoff series in six years.

Life > Fiction.