Punishments have yet to be handed down to schools in the FBI investigation into college basketball, and now new allegations involving a separate case have arisen, including more accusations of sneaker companies getting involved with a star recruit and having a role in his college decision.
The former marketing representative of Zion Williamson is asking the former Duke star to admit that his mother and stepfather received improper benefits from Adidas and Nike and others associated with Duke that led to him attending the ACC school and wearing the products of the apparel companies. The bombshell was revealed by the attorney of Gina Ford in a lawsuit against Williamson, who sued Ford and Prime Marketing Sports in June to terminate the contract he signed with the company.
Williamson, who later signed with CAA, alleged the deal with Prime Sports was in violation of North Carolina’s Uniform Athlete Agents Act because the agency is not certified by the NBA Players Association nor a registered athlete agent in North Carolina or Florida. Prime Sports counter-sued for $100 million, saying Williamson is in breach of a five-year contract and CAA tampered with the deal.
As part of the filing, Prime Sports served Williamson with a request for admission that his mother, Sharonda Sampson, and stepfather, Lee Anderson, “demanded and received gifts and economic benefits from persons acting on behalf of Duke University” directly or indirectly to get him to attend the school; that they “demanded and received gifts, money and/or other benefits” from people directly or indirectly representing Nike to get him to attend Duke; that they “demanded and received gifts, money and/or other benefits” from people representing Adidas either directly or indirectly to get him to wear the company’s sneakers and get him to attend a school endorsed by Adidas.
Williamson is also asked to admit that the family received benefits from an agent while in school at Duke. Ford’s attorney produced a separate final last week, in which it asked Williamson to reveal his and his parents’ addresses during his time at Duke and the names of their landlords and their month rent payments.
This isn’t the first time Williamson’s stepfather has come up in potentially receiving money. During a 2018 federal trial in New York as part of the college basketball corruption case, a transcript of a call between Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend and then-Adidas consultant Merl Code was played.
“Hey, but between me and you, you know, [Anderson] asked about some stuff. You know? And I said, ‘Well, we’ll talk about that after you decide,’” Townsend told Code.
“I know what he’s asking for,” Code responded. “He’s asking for opportunities from an occupational perspective. He’s asking for money in the pocket. And he’s asking for housing for him and the family.”
Duke athletic director Kevin White said at the time that the school worked with the NCAA to make sure Williamson was eligible and didn’t receive any improper benefits. Michael Avenatti, a celebrity attorney, alleged that Nike paid Williamson’s mother $35,000 or more in February of 2017. Duke investigated the allegations and found no wrongdoing. Avenatti, meanwhile, was found guilty of trying to extort Duke of up to $25 million in exchange for not exposing them to his allegations, and faces as much as 42 years in prison.
