It’s about to be a long summer for Zion Williamson. The New Orleans Pelicans star has been accused of rape and various forms of abuse.
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Jane Doe accuses Williamson of “sexual, physical, emotional, and financial” abuse throughout their multiyear relationship.
According to _[ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45393231/zion-williamson-sued-allegations-rape-years-abuse)_, the relationship began during Williamson’s tenure at Duke in 2018 and came to a close in 2023.
The lawsuit is 12 pages long, and the incidents occurred in both Louisiana and California. Williamson is accused of rape in 2020 in Beverly Hills, stating Williamson demanded sex after she said “she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.” Williamson allegedly pinned her down and raped her. Williamson also reportedly threw the woman’s phone and choked her. The woman stated she was raped again in Oct. 2020, which was more violent. Williamson also allegedly strangled the woman to a loss of consciousness multiple times and issued threats to her family.
The woman is reportedly seeking “anywhere from $18 million to $50 million in damages.”
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” Williamson’s attorneys at Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver LLC said in a statement to ESPN. “The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless. … This appears to be an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance.”