SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 21: The Nike logo is displayed on a window at a Nike store on March 21, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Nike will report third quarter earnings today after the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Attorney Michael Avenatti, facing federal extortion charges against Nike, continued to release additional information this weekend against the shoe company that alleges widespread payments to the families of top high school basketball players in a manner that appears, on the surface, to be similar to what caused an Adidas executive and a consultant to be convicted of fraud last year.

The documents allege evidence of approximately $170,000 in cash delivered to people connected to top players, including Deandre Ayton, Bol Bol and Brandon McCoy. Some of that money, the documents allege, was billed to Nike through bogus invoices disguised as business expenses.

Avenatti also suggested on Twitter he had proof Nike was paying Shaondra Sampson, the mother of Zion Williamson, for “consulting services” while Zion was still in high school. The payments, according to Avenatti, came through Nike’s vendor portal and began in 2016.

.@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 is the likely top pick in June’s NBA draft and is expected to garner a massive shoe endorsement deal. He played collegiately at Nike-sponsored Duke.

Avenatti offered no proof of the payments to Sampson but has repeatedly dared Nike on Twitter to prove him inaccurate. The company has not responded to Avenatti and declined to address the specifics of Avenatti’s charges to Yahoo Sports, instead issuing the following statement:

“Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports and won’t be commenting further beyond our statement.”

Nike later added an additional statement:

“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.”

Avenatti formerly represented Gary Franklin, the longtime coach of a Los Angeles-based AAU team, California Supreme, that Nike sponsored for more than a decade. Avenatti was charged with attempting to extort Nike last month by the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York by seeking about $20 million to not reveal the potentially damaging information via a news conference. Avenatti was also charged with federal tax crimes in a separate case in California.

Avenatti has denied the extortion attempt and at the time said he and his client were interested in uncovering wrongdoing within the company, which had recently declined to renew Franklin’s sponsorship contract. Avenatti said his request for payment from Nike was not a shakedown, but an offer to oversee a massive independent investigation into Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) to make sure it was complying with the law. He believed Franklin, his client, was a whistleblower.

None of the details in the documents would be particularly surprising to anyone in college basketball. It does, however, potentially impact whether the feds will, if they haven’t already, extend their probe toward EYBL and, in turn, the many high-profile Nike-sponsored college programs.

It also shows Avenatti is not going away because of his indictment and instead is still gathering and leaking via his Twitter feed the very kind of allegations and potential evidence he promised at the cancelled news conference. He said his latest document dump — 41 pages strong — was just “some” of the information he possesses.

He has put his sights directly on Carlton DeBose, the director of the EYBL, for actions that bare similarity to those that ensnared Adidas employees, AAU coaches and college programs.

“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 Friday night. He used bogus invoices and countless coaches to further the scheme [and] deliver the [money].”

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