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Gina Ford, the former marketing agent for Zion Williamson, reiterated her claim on Tuesday that the No. 1 overall pick received improper benefits to attend Duke University.
Ford filed her claim in court, without evidence, and requested that Williamson, his family members and Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski answer questions under oath regarding Williamson’s eligibility at the school.
The claim was filed after a judge ruled last week that Williamson would not have to answer questions under oath. Ford has requested that Williamson admit under oath that he received “money, benefits, favors or other things of value” to attend Duke.
Ford had 10 days from the previous ruling to issue a response in court. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Klein, an attorney for Williamson, said in a statement to the News & Observer that the continued allegations by Ford are “shameful” and “baseless” in nature.
Gina Ford’s and Prime Sports Marketing’s latest filing is a shameful attempt to distract from their admitted violations of North Carolina law. As Duke University stated in 2019, they and the NCAA both investigated and confirmed Mr. Williamson’s student-athlete eligibility. The defendants’ baseless allegations are a continuation of the predatory acts the agent statute was designed to protect against. Mr. Williamson looks forward to his day in court in North Carolina and, until then, remains focused on the NBA season and proudly representing his family, fans, and the city of New Orleans.
Ford claims that Williamson backed out of a signed contract to allow her to negotiate future endorsement deals in the NBA. She is seeking financial damages in excess of $100 million after Williamson reneged on the contract but by doing so, she is claiming that Williamson received impermissible benefits by attending Duke as part of her defense.
The attorneys for Williamson have said in the past that the contract signed with Ford was void in North Carolina and was negated by the North Carolina Uniform Athlete Agent Act. In short, Ford is attempting to prove Williamson was ineligible to play at Duke, thus meaning the UAAA would not protect him and allow him to back out of the contract.
Klein further stated that Duke investigated, along with the NCAA, the eligibility of Willaimson in 2019 and declared that he was cleared prior to attending the university.
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