Duke star, soon to be NBA player and likely #1 overall NBA Draft pick Zion Williamson is suing to enforce his termination of an agreement he signed with a Florida marketing company, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Williamson contends that the deal he signed with Gina Ford and Prime Sports on April 20th, only 5 days after he officially declared for the NBA Draft, was unlawful under North Carolina law.
Williamson’s family told Ford and Prime Sports back on May 31st that it was ending the agreement, to which the agency responded by saying that if Williamson terminated the deal, they would sue for damages in excess of $100 million.
The suit states that the agreement was unlawful under North Carolina’s Uniform Athlete Agents Act because Prime Sports is not certified by the National Basketball Players Association or a registered athlete agent in North Carolina or Florida, and that it failed to contain a conspicuous notice in boldface type in capital letters informing the athlete that by signing the agreement Williamson would be losing his eligibility to compete as a student-athlete, as required under the UAAA.
The suit was filed on Thursday in North Carolina court.
The lawsuit is asking the court to void the agreement and bar Prime Sports from acting on Williamson’s behalf.
“Prime Sports Marketing’s actions towards Mr. Williamson blatantly violated the North Carolina statute specifically designed to protect student athletes” Jeffrey S. Klein, a Williamson attorney, said via ESPN. “Mr. Williamson properly exercised his rights under the law to void his business dealings with Prime Sports Marketing. Prime Sports Marketing’s continued threats against Mr. Williamson made necessary the filing of this lawsuit.”
Williamson is likely going to be drafted #1 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the draft next week.
