Zion Williamson Legal Update: What His Next Move Should Be

There are a lot of different ways to look at the Zion Williamson/Gina Ford lawsuits (one is in Florida and one is in North Carolina). You could take the simple yes or no route, the this-is-why-the-NCAA-is-pointless route, the Duke Sucks route (aka Bomani Jones Way) or the simple legal analysis route.

That’s what this one is.

Over at Forbes, which writes about sports more than you would expect, is an article about how Zion’s legal team can kill Ford’s attempt to force him to answer potentially embarrassing questions. From the article:

“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...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....

“Williamson’s legal team will point to Rule 12(f), allowing the court to strike immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter...These matters have practically nothing to do with whether or not Ford had a valid deal that Williamson ultimately breached.”

So an interesting way to look at it. It still seems like an attempt to force Williamson to settle.