Pelicans' Zion Williamson facing allegations of rape, abuse

A woman who says she dated New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson between 2018 and 2023 has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging rape and “physical, emotional and financial” abuse, according to reports from TMZ and Margaret Fleming of Front Office Sports, who obtained copies of the suit.

As TMZ details, the lawsuit alleges that Williamson raped and assaulted the woman — identified only as Jane Doe from Seattle — in Sept. 23, 2020 in Southern California and again on Oct. 10, 2020.

“These two incidents were not isolated,” according to the lawsuit, which states that Williamson “continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter Plaintiff in California and other states, including Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.”

Williamson’s alleged victim says that he strangled her multiple times and pointed a loaded gun at her, causing her to “reasonably fear for her life,” per TMZ. She also says that Williamson threatened to have his security guard shoot her in the head and kill her parents, and that he entered her apartment unannounced to steal her belongings and abuse her.

The lawsuit, which includes several other allegations, states that Williamson was “either drunk or on cocaine” when many of the incidents occurred.

There are nine causes of action laid out in the suit, according to Fleming: assault, battery, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, domestic violence, stalking, burglary, false imprisonment, and conversion. Williamson’s reported victim is seeking unspecified damages.

“We don’t want to litigate this case in the media,” Doe’s attorney, Sam E. Taylor, told TMZ. “But I will say this is a very serious case as reflected in the pleadings that have been filed, and our client looks forward to her day in court to seek justice in this matter.”

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Williamson has battled injuries during his six seasons in the NBA, but has consistently performed at an All-Star level when healthy, averaging 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds,\ and 4.3 assists in 31.4 minutes per contest across 214 career regular-season games.

Williamson is owed approximately $126.5M across the next three seasons, though that money isn’t currently fully guaranteed. A recent report indicated that an offseason trade involving the 24-year-old was considered “very unlikely.”