# Avenatti Puts Heat On Nike...



## Black Ambrosia (Apr 7, 2019)




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## luckiestdestiny (Apr 7, 2019)

What's the point of this, and isn't Avanatti in trouble of his own doing? Shouldn't he deal with that first to restore his reputation because he was arrested for extortion? 

Is he another one that_ has to_ be in the news and needs attention like Trump or what?


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## Keen (Apr 7, 2019)

luckiestdestiny said:


> What's the point of this, and isn't Avanatti in trouble of his own doing? Shouldn't he deal with that first to restore his reputation because he was arrested for extortion?
> 
> Is he another one that_ has to_ be in the news and needs attention like Trump or what?


The point is he was probably trying to get a settlement for his client but Nike called extortion.  If Nike is paying off players, it may not be illegal but it will be one of the biggest sports scandal ever.  I foresee Nike back off because they don’t want to open that can of worm.


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## Black Ambrosia (Apr 7, 2019)

I’m also unsure of the extortion claims. It might be that he was researching this as he represented a whistleblower and Nike found out and decided to get in front of the story by slandering him with the extortion allegation. He’s obviously on trump’s radar so I don’t think it’s a stretch that this is not what it appears to be at face value especially given those domestic abuse charges that were dropped.


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## intellectualuva (Apr 7, 2019)

Welp...Nike tried to turn him in for extortion and he figured he was going to ......









 I ain't mad. I wouldn't let an equally dirty company or organization like the NCAA or Nike take me down alone. *shrug*


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## luckiestdestiny (Apr 7, 2019)

Keen said:


> The point is he was probably trying to get a settlement for his client but Nike called extortion.  If Nike is paying off players, it may not be illegal but it will be one of the biggest sports scandal ever.  I foresee Nike back off because they don’t want to open that can of worm.



Thanks for this_ genuinely._ It was late and I totally missed the connection because I knew he was charged with extortion but I did not know it was from Nike. Okay that makes sense. WOW.


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## luckiestdestiny (Apr 7, 2019)

Black Ambrosia said:


> I’m also unsure of the extortion claims. It might be that he was researching this as he represented a whistleblower and Nike found out and decided to get in front of the story by slandering him with the extortion allegation. He’s obviously on trump’s radar so I don’t think it’s a stretch that this is not what it appears to be at face value especially given those domestic abuse charges that were dropped.



I did notice that he's on Trump's radar and all these charges showed up. I just thought he was also railing against the wind instead of dealing with things.

I did not realize that Nike was a part of it all.  I think people are starting to realize when you make the president an enemy (obvious and vocal), he retaliates. He's not supposed to use the weight of the office that way, but there are a lot of things done that are not supposed to be currently.


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## TrulyBlessed (Feb 14, 2020)

Everyone continues to go to prison except Trump.

*Michael Avenatti has been found guilty on all counts in Nike extortion trial*
(CNN) — *[Breaking news update, posted at 2:20 p.m. ET]*

Michael Avenatti is guilty on all three counts he was facing, according to a decision by a jury in federal court in New York.

Prosecutors say the lawyer threatened to publicly accuse athletic apparel maker Nike of illicitly paying amateur basketball players unless the company paid him millions of dollars.

The government said Avenatti also betrayed his client, a youth basketball coach who made the allegations, by advocating for money for himself instead of the client.

Avenatti was charged with transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort, attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud.

He still faces two additional trials for allegedly stealing Stormy Daniels' book advance and committing fraud in California. He is being held in jail for allegedly violating the terms of his bail in the California case.

*[Previous story, published at 2:16 p.m. ET]*

A jury in federal court in New York reached a verdict Friday in the trial of Michael Avenatti.

The decision is expected to be announced soon.

Prosecutors say the lawyer threatened to publicly accuse athletic apparel maker Nike of illicitly paying amateur basketball players unless the company paid him millions of dollars.

The government said Avenatti also betrayed his client, a youth basketball coach who made the allegations, by advocating for money for himself instead of the client.

Avenatti was charged with transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort, attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud.

Gary Franklin, the youth basketball coach who Michael Avenatti represented, testified last week that he was bullied by Nike executives who forced him to make the illicit payments to top high school basketball players and their families. In 2018, the company ended its sponsorship of Franklin's program, the California Supreme.

Franklin said he wanted Avenatti to get Nike to renew his team's sponsorship and fire two Nike executives.

Avenatti was in "crushing debt" at the time and wanted to use Franklin's case to make money, prosecutors said. The high-powered attorney saw Franklin as a "meal ticket," they argued.

Nike lawyers who took the stand during the trial said Avenatti told them he would hold a press conference claiming the company illegally paid players. In exchange for not going public, Avenatti told the lawyers in one meeting Nike would have to pay Franklin $1.5 million for any claims he had and immediately pay Avenatti and another attorney $12 million, and guarantee $15 to $25 million in payments for an internal investigation, prosecutors said.

Benjamin Homes, an associate attorney for Nike's outside law firm who took notes during several of the meetings with Avenatti, testified that it "evolved into really a shakedown."

Franklin testified he was shocked to find out Avenatti was planning a press conference.

_Avenatti's attorneys have denied he committed any criminal acts because he was acting on behalf of his client who could legally make demands if they related to his claim. They argued Franklin and his friend, Jeffrey Auerbach, have changed their stories since Avenatti was arrested. 

Citing previous testimony and text messages between Auerbach and Franklin, defense attorneys said the two men were after "justice" and hired "Avenatti to be Avenatti" to get it. They had looked up firms that had "successfully sued Nike" and said it was time to "go after Nike," defense attorney Scott Srebnick said in closing arguments. 




Michael Avenatti has been kept in solitary confinement for 'his own safety,' prison warden says 
Auerbach also researched a jury verdict Avenatti won that totaled more than $400 million, and Auerbach and Franklin allegedly told Avenatti "do it your way" after hiring him, Srebnick said. 

Franklin said he wanted to root out corruption, and Avenatti was on a mission, defense attorneys argued. 

"The only way to root out corruption, the only way to dismiss employees for corruption is an internal investigation," Howard Srebnick, another defense attorney, said. "He was on a mission for his client. He was on a mission to achieve the goals of his client, and again he would be paid along the way."

View on CNN

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