Zion Williamson, a Pelicans star, is accused of rape; a civil lawsuit claims he suffered brutal abuse over a five-year period

An ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit describes years of claimed abuse, control, and sexual assault by the NBA player.

A former girlfriend has filed a legal complaint in Los Angeles against Zion Williamson, the forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, claiming that he was raped and subjected to recurrent abuse throughout their five-year relationship.

Williamson was at Duke when the relationship started in 2018, according to the complaint, which was filed Thursday. By 2020, it had become aggressive. Williamson is accused by the nameless woman of several rapes, strangulations, and physical assaults.

She “was picked up from a hotel and taken to Williamson’s home” in Beverly Hills on September 23, 2020, according to court filings. She claims that despite her telling him she was weary and wanted to go to sleep, “he demanded they have sex.” “Williamson took her phone for several hours and raped her,” according to the accusation.

In her account of a second alleged rape on October 10, 2020, the lady claims that Williamson “became angry and forced her to the ground, raping her for a second time” while she was getting ready to visit a friend. After that, she says he seized her laptop and phone.

He is also accused in the petition of physically attacking her, including “kicking, slamming a car door, and suffocating her until she lost consciousness,” choking her, and threatening to kill her and her family.

The claimed abuse continued until their split in 2023 and covered Texas, Louisiana, and California. The Lanier Law Firm is her current legal representation as she pursues emotional and monetary damages.

The Pelicans, Williamson’s agency, and the legal company have not yet responded. Last month, Williamson was arrested for stalking after an earlier incident involving another lady connected to him.