Scummy attorney Michael Avenatti threw more gas on the Nike bonfire he started a few weeks ago with his latest President Trump-esque tweet, which essentially said Zion Williamson’s mom got paid by Nike to influence him to attend Duke.
Duke responded to this by saying the university is looking into the claims raised by Avenatti. That’s good. Even though Avenatti has his own motivations (don’t forget he was charged with trying to extort more than $20 million from Nike), that doesn’t mean he’s lying.
Here’s the statement from Duke AD Kevin White.
“We are aware of the allegation and, as we would with any compliance matter, are looking into it. 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.”
Here’s the thing. Even if Williamson’s mom did get paid by Nike and that led Zion to attend Duke, what’s the worst that can happen to him? Nothing.
He’s going to declare for the NBA Draft, so his college eligibility isn’t in jeopardy, and there’s no law against his mom getting paid by Nike, so she’s not going to jail. The worst thing that could happen is Duke has to vacate wins and possibly face sanctions from the NCAA depending on their knowledge and involvement in the situation. That’s not going to change Zion’s draft projection (No. 1) or his marketability (apparently could command a $10 million shoe deal). He’s infallible.
While these allegations are definitely juicy conversation topics, and while the NCAA has it’s work cut out trying to figure out this situation and figure out how to police their own league more effectively, this doesn’t matter to Zion. He’s about to be one of the richest rookies in NBA history and Avenatti won’t change it.
