New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie sensation Zion Williamson is embroiled in a lawsuit and may have to testify about his high school recruitment and time at Duke.
Zion Williamson has been the talk of the NBA since he made his debut for the New Orleans Pelicans.
He has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for the New Orleans Pelicans and was one of the top candidates for Rookie of the Year before the season was suspended.
Zion Williamson has won a lot of battles on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans in his short career, but took a tough loss on Tuesday in court.
According to Christopher Dodson at Forbes, the discovery motion filed by Zion Williamson’s team of lawyers was denied by a federal judge in North Carolina.
Zion Williamson is suing Gina Ford and Prime Sports Marketing in an attempt to get out of a contract he signed in 2019.
Williamson’s team is claiming that the marketing deal was illegal. According to Forbes:
"Since Prime Sports was not a certified member of the National Basketball Players Association or a registered athlete agent in North Carolina or Florida, Williamson’s suit argues the contract should be worthless."
Ford is counter-suing Zion Williamson, claiming that the contract is valid and had a clause that would force the New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie to cough-up $100 million if he voided it within five years.
The judge’s ruling against a consolidated discovery process means that the chances are still alive that Zion Williamson will have to testify.
This could include questions about recruitment and his time at Duke, information that will have no bearing on his career with the New Orleans Pelicans, but could stir up some controversy for Duke and the NCAA.
Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans are hoping these legal issues will go away before the season resumes, whenever that is.
It could potentially be a distraction for the young New Orleans Pelicans and not something they would like to have linger into next season.
It would certainly be a media circus if young Zion Williamson had to take the stand in federal court, and is something the New Orleans Pelicans and Zion’s legal team would rather avoid.