Just before the top high school players in the country started playing in Wednesday’s McDonald’s All-American Game, Michael Avenatti tweeted out what he claimed were details about a famous McDonald’s alum.
The controversial attorney posted what he said were documents detailing payments totaling $10,000 from Nike to former UA star Deandre Ayton when he was living in Phoenix. The payments reportedly took place in the summer of 2016.
“These, among other documents, are now in the hands of prosecutors,†Avenatti tweeted. “These particular examples relate to $10k in cash funneled from Nike to Deandre Ayton’s mother. Nike had cash hand-delivered to avoid discovery by law enforcement and the NCAA.â€
These, among other documents, are now in the hands of prosecutors. These particular examples relate to $10k in cash funneled from Nike to Deandre Ayton’s mother. Nike had cash hand delivered to avoid discovery by law enforcement and the NCAA.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti)
Avenatti posted a bank statement showing two withdrawals of $5,000 — one on June 28, 2016 and another on June 30, 2016. He added what appeared to be a text message conversation between Nike rep Carlton DeBose and Ayton’s club director, Gary Frankin, in which Franklin refers to a June 29, 2016 trip to Phoenix as “my mission.â€
“To be honest, I have no comment on that,†Ayton said after a Suns shootaround Wednesday. “I’m not really addressing that right now. I do not know anything about that, but the thing is for me to just focusing on finishing this season strong and just really polishing my rookie season and entering my first summer of the NBA."
Ayton was one of the country's top basketball prospects at the time of the alleged payments. He had been expected to choose Adidas-sponsored Kansas, but committed to Nike-sponsored ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in September 2016.