Zion Williamson, Duke University Have Straightforward Path To Short Term Success In Beating Gina Ford’s Full-Court Legal Press

The legal full-court press on Zion Williamson continues, as the spotlight on his time at Duke University only gets more intense. Attorneys representing Gina Ford and Prime Sports in her Florida-based lawsuit against Williamson have filed a new motion for admission concerning the star’s recruitment and time with Duke University. However, neither Williamson nor Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski should be worried about being pressed into answers anytime soon.

Williamson has a straightforward path to avoiding giving answers regarding Ford’s request for admissions he received impermissible benefits, including money and housing for his parents while attending Duke University. What, if anything, he knows about benefits his parents demanded or received have practically nothing to do with the case Ford is arguing.

The Florida lawsuit Ford filed against Williamson is about whether he breached his agreement with Ford, not whether Nike made or he requested that Nike make impermissible payments. As such, Williamson’s attorneys next move will likely be a motion to strike Ford’s requests for admissions about impermissible benefits from Nike, adidas, Duke, or any other university provided. Williamson’s lawyers will ask the court to view Ford’s motion as an attempt to embarrass Williamson and possibly Nike, and one of Ford’s representatives admit as much.

Regarding the validity of the accusations implied within this motion, Ford’s lawyers told Dana O’Neil of The Athletic, “We have ideas, opinions and some leads of our own. We are looking for information to support our case. This is what we want to know.”

Williamson’s legal team will point to Rule 12(f), allowing the court to strike immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. The rule applies to pleadings but the sentiment is the same when applied here. These matters have practically nothing to do with whether or not Ford had a valid deal that Williamson ultimately breached.

Williamson’s legal team are likely working on a quick response. Moving to strike sooner rather than later is practically the only way to avoid answering the questions at this time. The motion would stay the necessity of answering until the court makes a ruling. Otherwise, Williamson has to answer or risk the questions being having them being deemed as admitted.

If Williamson’s response to this new motion is successful, he could avoid having to deal with the issue anytime soon. However, Ford is likely to file these same motions in Williamson’s lawsuit filed against her in North Carolina. It should be noted that both the Florida and North Carolina courts have yet to decide on matters of jurisdiction. Until that matter is settled, Williamson will not have to answer any questions.

This could be a costly miscalculation by Ford’s legal team, but it could also be seen as a press for a settlement. Everyone has their strategies, but most of these questions would have been asked during the deposition process. Now Williamson’s team knows what is coming if these cases get to that stage, not to mention a possible trial.

These lawsuits are getting more attention with every pre-discovery filing. This new motion comes just weeks after Cedriquze Johnson filed suit against Ford, seeking compensation for services rendered during Williamson’s recruitment to sign with Prime Sports initially. Johnson claims that his relationship with Williamson spans years, and the direct contact between Ford and Williamson’s family began while the star rookie was still suiting up for Duke University. Still, if Williamson does not want to answer these questions, he must file a motion.

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Williamson was mentioned in a 2018 federal case. Heard on wiretap recordings were former Adidas consultant Merl Code and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend discussing the cost to get Williamson to play for Kansas. Defense attorney Mark Moore read the transcript in open court, stating Code told Townsend “I know what he’s asking for…He is asking for opportunities from an occupational perspective. He’s asking for money in the pocket. And he’s asking for housing for him and the family.”

Ford’s filing, first reported by Daniel Wallach of The Athletic, wants Williamson to admit over a dozen statements were true, including:

• Sharonda Sampson, Williamson’s mother, and Lee Anderson, his stepfather, “demanded and received gifts and economic benefits from persons acting on behalf of Duke University (directly and/or indirectly) to influence [Williamson] to attend Duke University to play basketball.”

• Sampson and Anderson “demanded and received gifts, money and/or other benefits from persons on behalf of Nike (directly and/or indirectly) to influence [Williamson] to attend Duke University to play basketball.”

• Sampson and Anderson “demanded and received gifts, money and/or other benefits from persons acting on behalf of Adidas (directly and/or indirectly) to influence [Williamson] to wear Adidas shoes” and to “influence [Williamson] to attend a college that endorsed Adidas shoes.”

• Before becoming a student at Duke, Williamson “or person(s) acting on [his] behalf (including but not limited to Sharonda Sampson and Lee Anderson) accepted benefits from a NCAA-certified agent that are not expressly permitted by the NCAA legislation” between Jan. 1, 2014, and April 14, 2019.

• Who owned the house at which Sharonda Sampson and Lee Anderson (your mother and step-father, respectively) lived during the time that you attended Duke?

Williamson’s recruitment was highly scrutinized. Duke University and the NCAA have conducted two separate investigations into Williamson’s eligibility during his one season in college. The first investigation cleared him to play for the college. The second investigation concluded his participation in amateur collegiate athletics was legitimate according to NCAA bylaws. This new effort from Ford might not stand up to a relevancy test after the jurisdictional matters are settled, meaning no new information tarnishing Williamson or Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski will come to light any time soon.

It could also be the beginning of the end of Williamson’s involvement in these legal matters. The case can be argued on the merits without Williamson being deposed and facing similiarly pressing questions. These motions could induce settlement talks. Either way, Ford has exposed a bit of her strategy and the response looks to be a legal slam dunk win for Williamson.