Zion Williamson has been accused of taking a payment from a marketing agent while at Duke. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Court filing alleges Zion Williamson, stepfather took $400K while at Duke

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 9, 2020 6:44 PM ET

Gina Ford, former marketing agent for New Orleans Pelicans rookie star Zion Williamson, claims the 20-year-old was ineligible while playing for Duke because Williamson and his stepfather accepted a $400,000 payment from a Canadian marketing agent in October 2018.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported Ford's story found inside a sworn affidavit filed on Thursday.

In a letter to Williamson's attorney, Ford's attorney wrote:

"[W]e obtained newly discovered evidence impacting the issue of whether Zion Williamson was a 'student-athlete' that we believe makes it transparently clear, verifiable and indisputable that he was not a 'student-athlete' long before there was any communication or contact between Zion Williamson, and/or any third party acting on his behalf, and our clients."

Jeffrey Klein, Williamson's attorney, refutes the claim, via Daniel Wallach, who is a legal analyst for The Athletic:

Zion Williamson’s attorneys are claiming that new evidence submitted by Gina Ford is “patently fraudulent.” Among their bombshells:

- driver’s license is fake

- signature is “clearly fraudulent”

- New agent pulled same scam on Luka Donacic

- matter referred to law enforcement pic.twitter.com/vhnYMITSn9
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) July 9, 2020

Ford and Prime Sports Marketing are suing Williamson for $100 million and claiming the first-year pro broke their marketing agreement. Williamson's attorneys, meanwhile, claim Ford wasn't a registered agent in North Carolina and failed to produce a legally valid contract since the document didn't include a warning meant to protect amateur athletes from "unscrupulous agents."

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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