It appears that embattled attorney Michael Avenatti won’t be meeting anytime soon with the University of Oregon to discuss his allegations that Nike directed improper payments to star player Bol Bol.

A possible meeting, on either Thursday or Friday, had been under discussion.

But the prospect of a sit down blew up earlier this month when a university attorney pressed Avenatti for new information and he responded by urging the university to hire “an unbiased third-party to lead a real investigation,” according to public records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The university on Wednesday would not answer questions about what steps it has taken to investigate Avenatti’s claims or whether an outside firm would be hired.

“Mr. Avenatti has declined to meet with us unless he can dictate the terms of further inquiry,” Molly Blancett, a university spokeswoman, said in a statement Wednesday. “If he actually has any documents to review, we stand ready to do so, but it will be the institution that determines next steps. As we’ve stated previously, we’ve seen no evidence that suggests an investigation is merited.”

Avenatti shot back at the university’s statement, saying in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday that “this whole thing has coverup written all over it.”

“I’ve provided emails, text messages, bank statements, etc. And the university now claims that no investigation is warranted while at the same time refusing to have a third party look into what happened? The university and its leadership are trying to cover their own asses as well as the ass of their beloved benefactor, Nike.”

Federal prosecutors have accused Avenatti of attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike. Avenatti approached the company in March and alleged he had evidence that Nike directed payments toward family or associates of several top amateur basketball players, according to prosecutors.

Avenatti on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in federal court to extortion charges involving Nike and a separate case alleging that he stole about $300,000 from adult film star Stormy Daniels’ book advance.

After his arrest in late March, Avenatti publicly accused Nike of paying Bol, writing on Twitter: “Bol Bol and his handlers also received large sums from Nike. The receipts are clear as day.”

Avenatti subsequently released copies of text messages, emails and bank statements that he claimed showed Nike’s efforts to steer payments. The records from 2017 appeared to show payments of more than $40,000 that began with Nike and ended up with a nonprofit run by Melvin McDonald, Bol’s “handler.”

Bol later committed to play for Oregon, which is sponsored by Nike. Bol played one season for the Ducks and has since declared for the NBA Draft.

In response to Avenatti’s allegations, Kevin Reed, the University of Oregon’s general counsel, emailed Avenatti in March seeking more information. Reed followed up May 16 after receiving no response.

Reed and Avenatti traded emails that day discussing a potential meeting in Los Angeles. Avenatti also sent Reed a link to the documents he had previously released on Twitter.

On May 18, Reed confirmed that he had those documents and questioned if Avenatti had “credible evidence that the payments indicated were for improper purposes,” according to emails The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained from the University of Oregon.

Reed offered to meet Avenatti on May 30 or May 31 “if you have information to share beyond that which you have already posted on social media.”

Avenatti responded that he would be willing to provide “detailed documents and information beyond what has been released publicly.” But Avenatti asserted that Reed had a conflict of interest and said it was imperative a neutral law firm investigate.

That’s what a different school, UNLV, has done in the wake of Avenatti’s allegations. That university retained Bond, Schoeneck & King, which specializes in collegiate sports compliance, according to emails Avenatti shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

“If you are interested in the truth,” Avenatti told Reed, “this should be a no brainer.”

Avenatti and Reed exchanged several terse emails, with Avenatti appearing to have the last word: “I’m not going to participate in your cover-up. Retain a real law firm to do a proper investigation as is required.”

The discussion seemed dead.

But on May 21, an attorney in the Los Angeles offices of Munger, Tolles & Olson emailed Avenatti, according to an email Avenatti provided The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The Los Angeles attorney said the University of Oregon requested that its firm “facilitate a potential meeting.” Avenatti agreed to meet in early June, provided that the attorney confirm that the firm had been hired to conduct an investigation.

The attorney instead reiterated that the University of Oregon had not launched an investigation but wanted to see what additional information Avenatti had.

“Please let me know when and if your firm is retained to do a proper inquiry as opposed to merely allowing your office to be used for a meeting,” Avenatti wrote in an email Tuesday.

Blancett, the university spokeswoman, did not respond Wednesday to questions about the university’s relationship with Munger, Tolles & Olson or whether the firm is under contract.

Beyond the private back-and-forth contained in emails, the University of Oregon has steadfastly refused to disclose what steps, if any, it has taken to investigate Avenatti’s allegations.

Blancett said the university’s general counsel contacted Avenatti “as part of an effort to do due diligence” to see if he had evidence of wrongdoing.

But Blancett has declined numerous requests to address whether officials have attempted to contact others, such as Nike, Bol or McDonald, about the allegations.

The university has also declined to say whether it has attempted to contact Gary Franklin, the former grassroots coach who Avenatti claims took Nike’s money and transferred it to McDonald, at the behest of company officials.

The Oregonian/OregonLive this month requested all emails between the university’s top attorney and officials or legal representatives for Avenatti, Nike, the U.S. Department of Justice, the NCAA, McDonald, Franklin, Bol or Bol’s family members.

The university produced no documents, other than the emails with Avenatti.

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt