Did Nike route payments via Franklin? Manning replies that he thought he was supposed to receive all cash but "if u need to do it by check" make it out to "LINCOLN PREP BOYS BASKETBALL FOUNDATION, all caps".
This all comes after Avenatti, who has gained widespread notoriety in the past year for representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, was arrested and charged in NY in March for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening to take his allegations public. The sneaker company's campus has a building named after the long-time coach.
Federal prosecutors in California and NY allege that Avenatti threatened to expose misconduct by Nike employees regarding NCAA rules violations involving a Nike-sponsored AAU team unless he received pay.
Avenatti tweeted that what Nike did was the same as Adidas barring the difference that Nike "purposely hid the payments from the NCAA & Fed investigators".
On Saturday morning, he posted a PDF with 41 pages of documents entitled: "Nike corruption". "This evidence is now in the hands of law enforcement".
Carlton DeBose, a Nike executive, has bribed over 100 high school players over the last 4 years to play college basketball at colleges affiliated with Nike as opposed to other schools. Nike issued a statement Saturday to Yahoo Sports in which it says Avenatti should share his information with the proper authorities. "Just Do It Nike!".
"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 apparel company said in a statement via Dan Wetzel.
Duke is "looking into" attorney Michael Avenatti's allegation that Nike paid Zion Williamson's mother for consulting services while her son was a top high school recruit, according to athletic director Kevin White.
Williamson, who is 6-7, 280 pounds, said he still wants to talk to his family and teammate RJ Barrett - another Duke freshman projected as a lottery pick in 2019 - before making anything official.
The documents allege that Nike paid either the families or "handlers" of players Bol Bol, Deandre Ayton and Brandon McCoy. Bol, a freshman who played for OR this season, declared for the National Basketball Association draft last week.
McCoy left UNLV after one season and now plays for the Wisconsin Herd of the G League.
Tanking isn't over, but the NBA has tweaked the lottery system in advance of the 2019 NBA Draft in order to discourage teams from getting in an intense race to the bottom of the standings.
Between June 20 and August 10 of 2016, Manning is alleged to have received $35,000.
Duke went 32-6, winning the ACC championship but losing to Michigan State, 68-67, one win short of the Final Four last Sunday. Included are bank statements, text messages and fake invoices disguised as business expenses.
On college basketball's biggest weekend, California lawyer Michael Avenatti resumed his allegations against Nike. "I'm not really addressing that right now".
