New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> forward Zion Williamson<\/a> has been accused of rape, according to a lawsuit submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, in addition to “sexual, physical, emotional and financial” abuse over the span of a long-term relationship that started during Williamson’s freshman year at Duke<\/a> and lasted from 2018 to 2023.<\/p>\n The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, accuses Williamson of a “continuing pattern of abusive, controlling and threatening behavior” over the course of the multiyear relationship, per ESPN<\/a>. The 12-page civil complaint says Williamson’s alleged actions occurred in multiple states, including Louisiana and California, per ESPN’s report.<\/p>\n The lawsuit alleges that the first instance of sexual violence occurred in a home Williamson had rented in Beverly Hills, California and that he raped her twice in Los Angeles in 2020. It also alleges that he threatened to have his paid security guard shoot Doe and kill the plaintiff\u2019s parents in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023.<\/p>\n The complaint includes accusations of strangulation, being kicked, slammed with a car door and suffocated until Doe lost consciousness. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages \u2014 including punitive damages \u2014 for emotional distress.<\/p>\n Williamson’s New Orleans-based attorney, Michael Balascio, said Williamson and the plaintiff “never dated, but did maintain a consensual, casual relationship that began more than six years ago,” when Williamson was 18.<\/p>\n Balascio called the claims in the lawsuit “categorically false and reckless.” Williamson’s attorneys also noted “at no point during or immediately after that relationship did the plaintiff raise any concerns,” adding that “only after the friendship ended did she begin demanding millions of dollars.” They added that Williamson had reported the woman’s “extortion attempts” to law enforcement and that they plan to file a counterclaim.<\/p>\n “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” Balascio added. “This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.”<\/p>\n “We and our client do not want to litigate this case in the press,” Doe’s attorney told The Daily Mail<\/a>. “However, I will say this is a very serious case as reflected in the Complaint filed in Los Angeles County.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Our client looks forward to her day in court before a jury of her peers to obtain justice in this matter.”<\/p>\n
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