Former agent requests Zion Williamson respond to allegations of illegal benefits

(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

Zion Williamson’s lone season at Duke University is long over, but the impact of his time in Durham is still lingering.

According to Daniel Wallach, a legal analyst for The Athletic, Williamson’s former marketing agent is trying to get the basketball star to admit under oath whether or not he accepted impermissible benefits before he attended college.

Wow….attorney in Zion Williamson Private lawsuit trying to make Zion say “Yes or No” under oath as to whether he took illegal benefits at Duke https://t.co/FCyzEI8cwW

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 10, 2020

Williamson has been dealing with legal cases ever since he made the leap to the NBA. The issue involves Prime Sports Marketing, LLC, a Miami-based agency, who signed Williamson to a contract five days after he declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. The complaint surrounds whether or not Creative Arts Agency (CAA) “tortiously interfered”, as Wallach describes, with Prime Sports’ relationship with Williamson. Prime Sports is arguing that they still have complete control over Williamson’s marketing representation and endorsement deals. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2019 is currently represented by CAA, whose clients include Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Chris Paul, and several other high-profile athletes, not limited to just basketball.

Gina Ford, who was Williamson’s agent at Prime Sports, recently filed a 100-page court claim in which she accuses Williamson of canceling their agreement shortly after $100,000 was wired to Williamson’s stepfather. She is arguing that Williamson and/or a third party “demanded and took monies” in order to secure a future partnership with the agency, without repaying the money.

Zion Williamson’s former agent files a 100-page counterclaim in NC federal court.

She accuses Zion of fraud for cancelling an exclusive marketing agreement shortly after she wired $100K to Zion’s stepfather.

She seeks $100M in lost commissions + 100M in punitive damages. pic.twitter.com/37k2lgSpTp

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) May 10, 2020

Wallach provided an in-depth layout of all the fancy inner workings of these court cases, which you can read by clicking the link here. Who knows what this will ultimately mean for Duke or head coach Mike Krzyzewski, but this is going to be a pretty big deal going forward.