FBI Subpoenas NIKE Employees - College Basketball Scandal

steemsports (80)in #steemsports • 7 years ago

SteemSports Presenter/Editor: Scott Frank,@scottybuckets

Yesterday we broke the news about the NCAA College Basketball scandal that involved Adidas endorsed teams and bribery and corruption. The FBI arrested 10 people who are being accused of widespread bribery that ties in the shoe giant, Adidas, college coaches, and college basketball recruits. This hit the very highest level of the sport as Louisville Men’s Basketball Coach, Rick Pitino, was forced to take an unpaid leave from the program. Pitino is the highest paid coach in the country and has won 2 national championships. He career is not only over, but he could be facing prison time.

We knew that this was just the beginning of what is sure to be the biggest scandal ever to infiltrate college athletics. And today the next sneaker dropped. Nike’s Youth Basketball League has been hit with subpoenas in relation to the college scandal. Federal Investigators have given subpoenas to multiple employees and this could mean HUGE trouble for the biggest brand in the world.

One of Nike’s former employees is Merl Code. Get to know this name because he may be the man to not only bring down college basketball, but he might also bring down both Nike and Adidas. Merl Code is a current employee for Adidas but had worked prior with Nike. He is one of the 10 people that were arrested and he is named as one of the main defendants.

The name of Nike’s Youth Basketball League sounds so nice and innocent. It sounds like the shoe company is hosting a community youth outreach program getting kids off the streets. But it is nothing of the sort. The Youth League is where all of the top High School players in the country get to showcase their talent in front of the best programs and coaches in the country. It is also a place where the bribery, side deals, and scandal all begins. It starts with a free pair of shoes, an introduction to a “friend of the program” and then turns into private back room deals and negotiations to get the player to attend a certain college in exchange for cash, and lots of it. The alleged Louisville player at the center of the scandal was reported to have been paid $100,000 to sign with Louisville.

We will stay on top of this explosive and developing story. Nike and Adidas are in big trouble. Is Under Armour next?Are you surprised that this is how College Basketball Recruiting goes or have we just been pretending that this doesn't happen? Let us know what you think! Thank you for following @steemsports and you can follow me @scottybuckets Cheers!