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A judge in Florida has granted Zion Williamson and his lawyers a temporary stay pending further order of the court that would block the former Duke star from answering questions under oath, according to Daniel Wallach of The Athletic.
The decision was issued just three days after a judge in Miami ruled that Williamson would need to answer questions under oath regarding his eligibility at Duke. Gina Ford, the former marketing agent for Williamson, served requests to Williamson to admit he received “money, benefits, favors or other things of value” to attend Duke.
Lawyers for Williamson filed a protective order last week to prevent Williamson from answering questions under oath but a circuit judge in Miami denied that request during a motion hearing. The latest ruling on Thursday came after Williamson’s attorneys filed an urgent motion with the court.
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.
The ruling on Thursday will temporarily block Williamson from answer Ford’s questions under oath but her attorneys have 10 days to file a response in court.
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