Even though the NBA’s regular-season won’t begin for another two months or so, New Orleans Pelicans star rookie is still making headlines off the court. According to a story on Nola.com by Nathan Brown and Bryn Stole, Zion Williamson has filed a lawsuit against Prime Sports LLC and its founder Gina Ford for “predatory” behavior before he signed, then reneged, on a deal with the company.
Ford and Prime Sports are countersuing due to Williamson backing out of the deal and signing with Creative Arts Agency (CAA) Sports instead.
According to the story by Brown and Stole, Williamson’s lawsuit claims that Ford “grossly exaggerated her prior work for some top athletes and lied about relationships with others.”
One of those exaggerations was Ford claiming to be the primary agent for “a number of other first- and second-round NBA draft picks” as well as being retired Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt’s “lead global brand marketer.”
As such, Williamson’s lawsuit alleges that Zion was within his rights to dismiss the contract due to the “deceptive, or even fraudulent, conduct by Ford's Prime Sports LLC,” according to the story by Brown and Stole.
Ford and Prime Sports, for their part, aren’t backing down, as they believe Zion’s decision to eschew Prime Sports in favor of representation under CAA Sports to be “willful, intentional and unlawful,” per the Nola.com story.
As the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and one of the biggest names in recent college basketball history, every single decision Zion makes will surely be scrutinized by all of his various channels.
This lawsuit and counter-suit are likely the first of many bureaucratic wranglings that a star athlete must become adept at handling.
Follow Us
Subscribe