Zion Williamson Won’t Have To Discuss Alleged Payments By Duke, Nike, Adidas If Lawsuit Gets Tossed

While many in the sports world want to get to the bottom of whether Zion Williamson’s parents received money and gifts from Duke, Nike and Adidas, Williamson may never have to answer those questions if the current lawsuit involving him gets tossed out.

“If this gets tossed out and he doesn’t have to answer these questions under oath, he may never have to answer questions like these,” ESPN legal analyst Ryan Smith said Tuesday on “Get Up.”

He added: “I would not be surprised if they eventually settled [before Williamson answers any questions].”

Daniel Wallach, a sports attorney who has been following the lawsuit, essentially said the same thing, arguing we could be months away from finding out if Williamson, the former Duke star who was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, will ever have to answer.

“It depends on whether a judge will order him to answer those questions,” Wallach said. “His attorneys will object on relevance grounds. It may be a few months before we find out.”

He added on Twitter: “Zion Williamson may never have to testify under oath about any alleged payments to attend Duke. “

For background, attorneys representing Williamson’s former marketing representative, Gina Ford of Prime Sports Marketing, have asked Williamson via the discovery process to admit that this mother, Sharonda Sampson, and his stepfather, Lee Anderson, demanded and received money and gifts from Duke, Nike and Adidas. The goal of the questions, Ford’s attorneys Alvin Pittman and Willie Gary told Sports Illustrated, “is to prove that Williamson was receiving impermissible benefits that voided his status as an eligible NCAA ‘student-athlete’ and thus he was not covered by the Uniform Athlete Agents Act.

But just as in the Michael Avenatti case in New York, which I covered, thes broader questions of whether Nike (or anyone else) paid players — or a particular player — may never be fully answered.

“We are not going to pursue a broad exploration of whether Nike was involved in corruption in amateur athletics because Nike is not on trial here,” Judge Paul G. Gardephe told defense attorneys in the Avenatti case.

As in that case, the issue of alleged payments to Williamson by Duke, Nike or Adidas appears extraneous to the lawsuit at hand. And Williamson’s attorneys can certainly argue that.

“I think we’re a long way away from [Williamson answering questions] and here’s way,” ESPN’s Smith said. “First of all, if I’m Zion’s team I could have the ability to ask for delays in answering these questions and in responding to this. Not only that, if I do end up eventually fighting this, I’m trying to get somebody to toss this out.

“And my argument is essentially this: ‘Hey, how is this relevant? You’re aying Zion breached a contract, I’m saying he didn’t. Taking the improper benefits is not about really about getting to the truth of something. You’re really trying to create scandal, trying to embarrass my client, and really that’s not what this is supposed to be all about. And that could get this tossed out.’”

Meantime, Pittman and Gary told SI they plan to depose Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, the all-time winningest coach in Division 1 history.

“We are setting depositions as we speak,” Pittman told SI. “We can assure you that we are about to hit the road of discovery like you wouldn’t believe.”

Gary added: “We are leaving no stones unturned, if you get my message.”

Still, this too, may never happen.

“Coach K (a non-party to the litigation) is beyond the subpoena power of a Florida court, and Ford’s attorneys will have to seek a special commission issued by a NC court to compel his testimony in Florida,” Wallach Tweeted Tuesday.

Duke has long been able to steer clear of being linked to paying players, the way Kansas, Louisville and N.C. State were in the Adidas trial.

But speaking Monday on ESPN, Bomani Jones said this situation would be viewed differently if Kentucky’s John Calipari were allegedly involved, as opposed to Coach K.

“If people were to find out that this happened with Duke, they would just say, ‘Oh well, I guess this is what is is now,’” Jones said.

ESPN.comBomani: No one would doubt this Zion story if Calipari was his coach – ESPN Video

A Duke spokesman said the school has no new comment on the matter, instead pointing to the previous statement issued last fall.

“As soon as Duke was made aware of any allegation that might have affected Zion Williamson’s eligibility, we conducted a thorough and objective investigation which was directed by individuals outside the athletics department,” the statement from the university reads. “We found no evidence to support any allegation. Zion thrived as both a student and an athlete at Duke, and always conducted himself with integrity and purpose.”