NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – For the first time since Zion Williamson was accused of rape, assault, kidnapping, and making death threats, the Pelicans’ new President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars, is speaking publicly about the situation.
Dumars, an NBA veteran and former league executive who previously oversaw player conduct and discipline, understands the gravity of the claims lodged against Williamson in a civil lawsuit filed last week in California.
The suit alleges years of abuse spanning multiple states during what the plaintiff says was a long-term relationship.
“You take that serious, right?” Dumars said. “You certainly don’t want to be dismissive of anything like that or take it lightly. But beyond that, there’s nothing else that I could possibly say to touch that, other than the fact that we look at it, we take it serious, and then we’ll let it play out and see where it goes.”
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While Dumars declined to comment on the legal specifics, he said the league and the team are committed to handling the situation properly.
Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Pelicans, commented earlier this week, saying, “Lawsuits are lawsuits. You can sue for anything. It’s just something people do, unfortunately.”
In the meantime, Dumars says he’s had several one-on-one conversations with Williamson during the offseason, most of them focused on leadership, accountability, and the weight of being the face of a franchise.
“My conversations with him have been about the responsibility of being a great player for a team, being one of the faces for a team,” Dumars said. “I’ve talked to him extensively about that responsibility and being accountable for that. Quite frankly, what I said to him too—I said, ‘You got to own all of this. You can’t just own the good parts. You have to own the responsibility parts and you have to be accountable for yourself and everybody else.’ So there’s been some very direct, very good conversations.”
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