Lawsuit involving Zion Williamson and Duke takes another turn
The Zion Williamson/improper benefits case experienced another legal bounce Thursday night.
The Associated Press reports that a Florida appeals court granted the NBA rookie a temporary stay in a suit brought by Williamson’s former marketing agent, Prime Sports Marketing and company president Gina Ford.
Previously, a court ruled that Williamson must answer questions about whether he or family members received improper benefits before Williamson went on to star for Duke University in 2018-19.
Williamson had filed suit in 2019 seeking to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after the former Blue Devil signed with Creative Artists Agency. Prime Marketing followed up by filing suit against Williamson for breach of contract.
In the Prime Marketing suit against Williamson, Ford’s attorneys had submitted questions about whether Williamson or those connected to Williamson had sought or accepted “money, benefits, favors or things of value” to sign with Duke.
Duke has said it investigated the Williamson recruitment and found no wrongdoing.
In his only season at Duke, Williamson led the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament East Region finals where Duke lost 68-67 to Michigan State. Williamson was then selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.
Returning from knee surgery, Williamson played 19 games with the Pelicans, averaging 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. He made 58.9 percent of his shots, including 46.2 percent of his three-point shots.
The Pelicans are one of 22 teams scheduled to participate when the NBA resumes play on July 31 in Orlando.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 10:03 AM.
