Feds subpoena Nike's elite youth basketball program, report says

"Employees of Nike's EYBL grassroots division, along with documents, have been subpoenaed by FBI in furtherance of investigation," attorney and Forbes contributor Darren Heitner tweeted Wednesday afternoon, citing unidentified sources.

If true, then the investigation that already has led to 10 arrests — including Adidas director of sports marketing Jim Gatto and and four assistant coaches at prominent Division I basketball programs, as well the effective firing of longtime Louisville coach Rick Pitino — is about to get even more interesting.

Or, if you're a current Division I basketball coach, more frightening.

Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League debuted in 2010 and since then has become one of the nation's premier travel basketball programs for high school-aged players and younger, and as such is the focus of virtually every major Division I basketball program at events such as the annual Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.

EYBL's being part of the investigation expands on the announcement by the Justice Department of its charges stemming from a wide-ranging system of recruits, assistant basketball coaches, bribery and fraud related to financial advisors. Tuesday's charges were limited to basketball programs with Adidas endorsement deals.

If federal investigators are now looking at teams that have endorsement deals with Nike, then certainly nerves will be on edge in programs across the country.

“We have your playbook,” New York FBI assistant director in charge Bill Sweeney said Tuesday in New York. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we are conducting additional interviews as we speak.”

He encouraged anyone with information about similar schemes to contact the FBI's tip line — an encouragement that came with a vaguely threatening tone, with Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim saying those with information are better off making a call to the FBI than getting a call from the FBI.

The allegations in the various complaints alleged represent significant violations of the NCAA's rules and likely will result in heavy penalties for the schools and coaches involved (if not outright termination for some, such as Pitino), but acting Kim said Tuesday he did not believe the governing body was aware of the investigation until Tuesday.