Last month, Avenatti was charged with attempted extortion by the Southern District of New York. He is also facing a separate case in California for a federal tax crime. Avenatti has denied the extortion charges and said that he only requested money from Nike to conduct an independent investigation into their Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).
“Carlton DeBose, a Nike executive, has bribed over 100 high school players over the last four years to play college basketball at colleges affiliated with Nike as opposed to other schools,” Avenatti tweeted out on Friday night. He used bogus invoices and countless coaches to further the scheme [and] deliver the [money].” He continued.
Despite Avenatti allegations, Nike has said that it will not directly respond to the claims. “Nike will not respond to the allegations of an individual facing federal charges of fraud and extortion and aid in his disgraceful attempts to distract from the athletes on the court at the height of the tournament. Nike will continue its cooperation with the government’s investigation into grassroots basketball and the related extortion case.”
The long belief that athletes in college sports get paid under the table has been around for years. Last year, an Adidas executive and consultant were convicted of fraud last year. Not to mention the various other scandals that have occurred in the NCAA recently. These new allegations against Nike may or may not be true, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they are.
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