Zion Williamson gets favorable ruling in lawsuit by ex-agent

MIAMI (AP) » A Florida appeals court has granted Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson’s motion to block his former marketing agent’s effort to have the ex-Duke star answer questions about whether he received improper benefits before playing for the Blue Devils.

The order Wednesday shifts the focus to a separate but related case between the same litigants in federal court in North Carolina.

The Florida lawsuit, filed last summer by Prime Sports Marketing and company president Gina Ford, accused Williamson and the agency now representing him of breach of contract and seeks $100 million in damages.

That came after Williamson had filed his own lawsuit a week earlier in North Carolina to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after his decision to move to Creative Artists Agency.

Ford’s attorneys had submitted questions in filings last month that included whether the Williamson or anyone on his behalf sought or accepted “money, benefits, favors or things of value” to sign with Duke. They sought answers within 30 days to establish facts under oath in the pretrial discovery process.

Attorneys for last year’s No. 1 overall NBA draft pick had argued the questions were “nothing more than a fishing expedition.” Florida circuit judge David

C. Miller denied Williamson’s original stay request, but that was overturned on a temporary basis by the state appeals court, which has now made that ruling permanent, siding with Williamson attorney Jeffrey S. Klein that the federal case takes precedence.

In a filing last week in the North Carolina case, Prime Sports-Ford attorneys continued to argue that last summer’s No. 1 overall NBA draft pick didn’t meet the definition of a student-athlete because he was “ineligible” to play college sports. That filing referenced housing for Williamson’s family during his time with the Blue Devils as well as three luxury SUVs registered by his mother and stepfather between December 2017 and April 2019 — the latter being the same month Williamson announced he would go pro before ultimately being picked by the New Orleans Pelicans.

The argument about Williamson’s eligibility is center of the legal fight over Williamson’s endorsement potential.

Road complete the Belmont field.

The Belmont was was contested at various distances (from 1 1/8 miles to 1 5/8 miles) during its first 59 years, from 1867 through 1925. It was last run at 1 1/8 miles in 1894. The streak of 94 consecutive years at a mile and a half ends this year. Belmont undercard There are five graded races on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes undercard: tenhorse the Acorn, Jaipur, Woody Stephens, Wonder Again and Pennine Ridge. Last year there were eight, including the Met Mile and Manhattan Stakes, both of which this year will be run on the Fourth of July.

With division contenders Tonalist’s Shape and Venetian Harbor bypassing the Acorn (G1), Perfect Alibi brings the strongest credentials to the one-mile G1 test. The daughter of Sky Mesa won the Adirondack and Spinaway last summer at Saratoga, ending the year with a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. This is Perfect Alibi’s first start of 2020.

Heading the field for the Jaipur (G1) is Pure Sensation, the battle-hardened 9-year-old with 11 stakes wins (eight of them graded) whose lifetime earnings are only a few dollars shy of $2 million – not an easy total to reach when competing mostly in turf sprints. Pure Sensation won the Jaipur in 2016 and ran third in 2018.

Only Shoplifted of the five entrants in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) has previously competed at the G1 level, and he was wellbeaten in all three efforts. Mischievous Alex is the hot horse in the field with three straight wins, most recently G3 triumphs in the Swale Stakes and the Gotham.

Sweet Melania, who has finished in the money in all six career starts, heads the field in the Wonder Again Stakes (G3). The daughter of American Pharoah prevailed in Keeneland’s Summer Stakes last fall, rounding out the year with a close-up third in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. This is her first start since.

Jeff Scott writes about horse racing Friday in The Saratogian. He may be reached at utahpine1@ aol.com.