In a group of tweets, bank statements, and new documents by attorney Michael Avenatti alleged that college basketball stars like Ayton, Bol and even Duke Star Zion Williamson’s mother, Sharonda Sampson who was paid for bogus “consulting services” to get Williamson to Duke. That’s only a start to the story. You’ll be able to look over the documents and bank statements below.
2/3 – Nike’s most senior execs knew about it and looked the other way, as did many of the colleges. Nike also undertook large efforts to hide it from the NCAA & federal investigators. Some colleges lost out on some of the best high school recruits because of Nike’s bribes…
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 5, 2019
3/3 – If I am lying, @nike should issue a stmt immediately stating no such payments were ever made and calling me out. They won’t because they know it is 100% true and they covered-up for years.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 5, 2019
Was it fair for some colleges to lose out on recruits because Nike had bribed the recruits with illegal payments so they would play at other “Nike” schools? Was it fair for Nike to take advantage of the players and their families by paying the bribes and then demanding loyalty?
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 5, 2019
Avenatti also claims the shoe manufacturer made cash deliveries totaling $170,000 to people connected to stars like Denandre Ayton, Bol Bol, and Brandon McCoy.
.@DukeMBB – About this denial by Coach K the other day relating to payments by Nike…Can you please ask Zion Williamson’s mother – Sharonda Sampson – whether she was paid by @nike for bogus “consulting services” in 2016/17 as part of a Nike bribe to get Zion to go to Duke? Thx.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 6, 2019
Williamson, Avenatti intimated on Twitter that his mother received money from Nike through the sneaker giant’s vendor portal beginning in 2016.
I’m still waiting for @nike to call me a liar and state they have not been bribing players for years to go to “Nike” colleges in violation of countless federal criminal statutes…
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 6, 2019
Michael then went out to collect as many invoices and bank statements as he could. I screenshotted this one below for you. But I included the link for his dropbox of them all below it as well.
2/2 – Nike should be criminally indicted on well over 200 counts and should also explain why they misled their investors/the SEC. If I'm lying or the docs are not legit, I challenge @nike to issue a stmt claiming no bribes were ever paid. Just Do It Nike!https://t.co/4gi8MQRcQB
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 6, 2019
“We are aware of the allegation, and, as we would with any compliance matter, are looking into it,” White wrote. “Duke is fully committed to compliance with all NCAA rules and regulations Every student athlete at Duke is reviewed to ensure their eligibility. With regard to men’s basketball: all recruits and their families are thoroughly vetted by Duke in collaboration with the NCAA through the Eligibility Center’s amateurism certification process.”
On Saturday, Duke athletic director Kevin White issued a statement to the university’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, that said the school is looking into the claims.
Duke has a contract with Nike since 1992 and signed a 10-year extension with the school that runs through 2027.
Avenatti was charged last month by the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York who claims Avenatti attempted to extort Nike by seeking about $20 million to not reveal the potentially damaging information via a news conference. Avenatti has also charged with federal tax crimes in a separate case in California.
The documents that Avenatti published on Saturday claim that people affiliated with Ayton, a former star at Arizona, received $83,000 while acquaintances of Bol, who played at Oregon, received $57,000 while people affiliated with McCoy, who played center at UNLV, received an estimated $30,000.
2/2 – Nike should be criminally indicted on well over 200 counts and should also explain why they misled their investors/the SEC. If I'm lying or the docs are not legit, I challenge @nike to issue a stmt claiming no bribes were ever paid. Just Do It Nike!https://t.co/4gi8MQRcQB
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 6, 2019
Just let these athletes get paid. Why not? They can’t go to school, have a job, and play college sports. That’s impossible. There isn’t enough time. On top of being a 18-20 year old. Just let them collect money from whoever. Or give them a base salary. It doesn’t have to be munch. Why not have a set pay scale for these stars?
If colleges have millions of millions of millions of dollars…. Why not? It makes no sense. College is the biggest scam possible. They are always taking. Why not give? What should happen with Nike? Players are going to get paid somehow.