Pelicans leadership addresses future with Zion Williamson following rape accusation
New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and owner Gayle Benson are standing behind star forward Zion Williamson after he was accused of rape and domestic violence in a civil lawsuit last week.
'I've had really good conversations with Zion,' Dumars told The Times-Picayune on Wednesday about Williamson's future with the team. 'We've had lunch. Dinner. Watched playoff games together. We've done it all. I've had some real honest conversations with him. Some real direct and honest conversations. We're going to go forward with Zion. He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward.'
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When asked about the lawsuit against Williamson, Dumars said, 'I've been advised not to venture into any of his legal issues.'
On Tuesday, Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints, addressed the suit, saying, 'You know, lawsuits are lawsuits.'
'People can sue you for anything,' Benson told reporters, per WWLTV. 'There's no reason. You can be innocent or not, so it's just something that people do, unfortunately.'
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday by a woman who said she dated Williamson for almost five years, beginning when he was a freshman at Duke. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages from Williamson.
In the lawsuit, she alleged that Williamson repeatedly raped her, hit and kicked her and made her fear for her life in several instances before the relationship ended in June 2023. She also alleged that Williamson falsely imprisoned and stalked her, threatened to kill her, and that he had a pattern of 'abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior.'
Williamson denied the allegations in a statement through his attorneys, calling them 'categorically false and reckless.'
His attorneys disputed the nature of the relationship, saying he and the woman never dated but maintained 'a consensual, casual relationship.' The attorneys said they 'reported the plaintiff's extortion attempts to law enforcement' and that Williamson 'intends to file counterclaims and seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit.'
Williamson, 24, played at Duke for one season before the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He has spent six seasons as the team's star but has only logged 214 career games due to numerous injuries.
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