FACT CHECK: Did Zion Williamson Shoot His Shot at Joy Taylor Amidst Fox Sports Lawsuit? Debunking Wild Rumor

Claim: Today marks two months since Zion Williamson’s last appearance in the NBA. A left hamstring strain has kept the explosive power forward out of the Pelicans’ rotation and during his absence from the hardwood, fans have begun speculating about the 24-year-old’s personal life.

Zion has been linked to Joy Taylor of Fox Sports 1 amid hairstylist Noushin Faraji’s lawsuit against the Fox network and notable FS1 employees like Taylor and Skip Bayless.

The FS1 host was implicated for “insulting Ms. Faraji on a personal and professional level” after learning about Bayless’ inappropriate advances, making it a particularly bad time for Williamson to be linked with Taylor.

Verdict: However, there isn’t any merit to this notion as the rumors were initiated by the infamous parody account, NBACentel. Zion found himself as the subject of their latest satirical post, featuring a fake comment under Taylor’s Instagram post.

Many fans, and even prominent sports personalities like Antonio Brown, believed that Zion had actually commented “can I be next?” on Taylor’s social media. But this is the bread and butter of NBACentel. In the fake post by Centel, Taylor responds to Williamson’s approach by writing, “Ew, no…Blocked [gross emoji].”

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentel/status/1876344284552773813

NBACentel leveraged the controversy surrounding Taylor and Fox Sports, inserting Zion into the narrative for laughs. There isn’t any truth to this as Williamson has not made any public attempts at linking up with the FS1 employee.

The former #1 pick has been out of the public eye during his recovery, making it easier for fans to believe the fake post about him. However, the last update about Williamson’s dating life suggests that he is in a long-term relationship with his partner, Ahkeema.

The two welcomed their daughter, Azira, in November, 2023, and Zion has largely remained out of the relationship spotlight since then. Joy Taylor, on the other hand, finds herself under public scrutiny due to the bombshell lawsuit levied against her and her network.

Noushin Faraji worked as a hairstylist at Fox since 2012 and reportedly experienced several instances of sexual harassment during her time there. Faraji claims that Skip Bayless was inappropriate with her on numerous occasions, even offering her $1.5 million after she rejected his advances.

Her lawsuit addresses the larger Fox infrastructure too, as she reportedly made several complaints to Human Resources for support. Taylor is implicated in the controversy for allegedly downplaying Bayless’ behavior and asking Faraji to “get over it“.

While the legal proceedings will certainly take their time to play out, it’s important that fans maintain a level of skepticism to avoid getting “Centel’d“.