NEW ORLEANS—New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, his stepfather and his mother allegedly have failed to pay back $1.8 million of a $2 million loan from a California-based technology company.
The lawsuit also states that the player’s stepfather, Lee Anderson, represented Williamson as his business manager and required up-front payment of $150,000 to negotiate a potential business relationship with his stepson. “Anderson represented that the loan was urgently needed, as the family had taken on expensive investments including the purchase of certain real estate in New Orleans and could not meet their obligations due to the temporary suspension of payments from Williamson’s sponsorship deals resulting from an injury,” the lawsuit stated.
Last April, Ankr and Anderson entered into a forbearance agreement in which the company agreed not to sue if it received repayment of $500,000 by April 25 and the remainder by July 6, according to the lawsuit. Knee, foot and hamstring injuries have limited him to 114 games in his first four seasons, meaning he’s missed 194 regular season games, as well as all nine of his team’s postseason contests during his career.