A former Nike sports marketer filed, then abruptly withdrew, a civil rights complaint in which he claimed the company fired him in retaliation after he testified about alleged unlawful activity.
Jamal James worked for Nike from 2015 to 2022, most notably as a manager in the company’s Elite Youth Basketball program for top amateur players. His name appeared in news reports in 2019 about illicit payments to families of top high school basketball players.
The stories came to light after celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti released dozens of documents that he claimed showed Nike impermissibly paid amateur players. The documents included some text messages that Avenatti claimed came from James, including one in which James allegedly wrote, “Give him $12,500.00.” (Avenatti was later sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for trying to extort Nike.)
James has not spoken publicly about the alleged payments, but in a three-page complaint filed with Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries in August, he claimed a superior authorized the payments. He went on to allege that Nike retaliated, and ultimately fired him, after he reported what he “had a good faith belief to be a violation of federal and/or state law.”
He claimed whistleblower retaliation, racial discrimination, disability discrimination and violation of a state law that prohibits disciplinary action against employees who cooperate with law enforcement investigations.
After The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained the complaint through a public records request and inquired about its contents, the high-profile Los Angeles attorney Bryan J. Freedman, who represented James, indicated he’d withdrawn the complaint. He did not specify why and declined to comment further.
Nike did not respond to a request for comment. James could not be reached.
A spokesperson for the labor bureau confirmed the complaint has been withdrawn.
While the complaint has been withdrawn, it provides new information about the payments scandal, including the allegation from James, a key Nike player at the time, that Nike engaged in illegal activity. James signed the complaint under penalty of perjury.
James said in the complaint he became “implicated” in federal and internal investigations of Nike’s alleged illegal payments to players in the fall of 2017. He claimed he was subject to government subpoenas as part of those investigations.
In the complaint, James claimed he made it known to Nike attorneys that he planned to be “forthright and cooperative” with the investigations. He also claimed he reported the alleged misconduct, which he termed a “conspiracy,” to the NCAA.
The complaint does not provide any detail about the alleged crimes or conspiracy or details about the subpoenas or investigations.
James claimed Nike tried to coerce him not to be truthful and retaliated against him, including by not correcting the record when news articles were “falsely smearing” him. James, who is Black, claimed Nike took “proactive steps” to help white Nike employees who were subject to public criticisms.
James claimed after the “media firestorm” receded, Nike changed his job, ultimately doubling his duties. He also claims he was subjected to workplace bullying and harassment from his manager for speaking up about problems.
James claimed Nike fired him on Sept. 1, 2022, for not complying with the company’s in-office policy but that “in reality” it was “retaliation for speaking out about and reporting wrongdoing.”
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– Matthew Kish; mkish@oregonian.com; Jeff Manning; jmanning@oregonian.com