Duke is looking into whether Zion Williamson’s mother was paid by Nike to steer him to play for the Blue Devils after Michael Avenatti’s claims he was.
The Zion Williamson era is over at Duke but the ramifications of his time in Durham could be felt for a long time if Michael Avenatti’s claims are true.
Avenatti, the lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels, and who was arrested after trying to shakedown Nike for $20 million alleges Williamson’s mother Sharonda Sampson was paid by Nike to have her son attend Duke, a Nike school.
In a series of tweets, Avenatti claims Nike has a lot to hide regarding payments for college basketball recruits and steering them to attend Nike schools.
.@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
Avenatti feels confident enough to call out Nike with one scathing tweet after another. He’s basically challenging Nike to either have him arrested again or to call him a liar and prove what he’s saying is not true.
Avenatti feels emboldened when Nike and Duke don’t come right out and issue denials about his accusations.
With Duke’s season coming to an end last weekend vs. Michigan State in the Elite Eight, the university is now deciding to look into these allegations.
"“We are aware of the allegation and, as we would with any compliance matter, are looking into it, Duke athletic director Kevin White said, via The Chronicle. 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.”"
While this isn’t an outright denial, it is a sign that they aren’t just brushing these allegations to the side or dismissing it because of the source.
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
Nike issued a statement through Yahoo! Sports saying they won’t be saying anything other than they believe in playing fair.
“Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports and won’t be commenting further beyond our statement,” the statement read.
Williamson was the Player of the Year in college basketball and is projected to be the No. 1 pick of the NBA Draft. If these allegations are proven true, nothing will happen to Zion who will be cashing NBA millions and presumably a nine-figure deal with Nike, while Duke is left to deal with the carnage left behind.