體育黑暗面 − Zion Williamson 之母傳出曾接受 Nike 賄賂
一切都是商業。
早在進入大學前，Zion Williamson 便憑藉「全美最強高中生」的光環聞名於全球體壇，可想而知，這樣的球員自然是各個大學熱烈招生的對象，無論是球隊戰力或著商業價值皆能夠產生顯著的效益，而在多間傳統強校拋出橄欖枝後，Zion 仍選擇 Duke，雖然並不讓人意外，但亦讓外界懷疑中間是否有些貓膩？
今回一名為 Michael Avenatti 的律師便在網上抨擊 Nike 以賄絡 Zion 母親的方式，讓其進入品牌深耕多年的 Duke 就讀，此外更指控 Nike 高階主管 Carlton DeBose 在過去 4 年來賄賂了百多名高中球員，目的便是讓這些球員畢業後就讀 Nike「陣營」的大學，同時 Avenatti 也指出這樣的手段對那些錯失優秀球員的大學和球員們家庭來說是否公平？
.@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) 2019年4月6日
I almost forgot – long day – @DukeMBB can you also have your close friends at @Nike check their Nike Vendor Portal for payments to “Sharonda Sampson Consulting”. Just search 2016 to the present. Appreciate it.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2019年4月6日
Was it fair for some colleges to lose out on recruits because Nike had bribed the recruits with illegal payments so they would play at other “Nike” schools? Was it fair for Nike to take advantage of the players and their families by paying the bribes and then demanding loyalty?
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2019年4月5日
1/3 – 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. He has used bogus invoices and countless coaches to further the scheme & deliver the $…
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2019年4月5日
2/3 – Nike’s most senior execs knew about it and looked the other way, as did many of the colleges. Nike also undertook large efforts to hide it from the NCAA & federal investigators. Some colleges lost out on some of the best high school recruits because of Nike’s bribes…
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2019年4月5日
3/3 – If I am lying, @nike should issue a stmt immediately stating no such payments were ever made and calling me out. They won’t because they know it is 100% true and they covered-up for years.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2019年4月5日
此外 Nike 也在早先回應他們不會理會這些不實指控，並會配合聯邦調查，Duke 則是對外聲明將對此事件深入調查，各位對此又有何看法？其實類似的事件在體育界早不是新聞，有興趣的讀者不妨在留言處與我們分享看法，另外亦可留意 Stephen Curry 認為沒有 LeBron James 的季後賽不再一樣的消息。
