The federal investigation into the corrupting influence of money in college basketball has now ensnared Nike.
Sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to ESPN and ABC News that Nike's grassroots basketball division, referred to as the Elite Youth Basketball League, has been served with a subpoena, as federal prosecutors in New York and the FBI dig deeper into what they've called the "dark underbelly" of college basketball.
When reached on Thursday afternoon, a Nike spokesman issued this statement to ABC:
"Nike firmly believes in compliance with laws and fair play in all sports. There are no allegations against Nike in the complaints and we are committed to cooperating with any government investigation into this matter."
Nike added that it will not comment on an ongoing government investigation.
The EYBL is not named in the case, but a former employee who ran it, Merl Code, is one of the defendants.
The FBI's New York field office and the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on their ongoing investigation.
The subpoena news was first reported by Forbes contributor and attorney Darren Heitner.
Code, who left Nike for Adidas more than three years ago, is alleged to have assisted Jim Gatto, Adidas' director of global sports marketing, in conspiring to pay high school players in a scheme to ensure those players landed at schools Adidas sponsored and, later, signed with Adidas once they turned pro.
One of those players, Brian Bowen, who allegedly received $100,000 to sign with Louisville, has been suspended indefinitely. News of the connection led Louisville to place head basketball coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich on administrative leave.
While Nike doesn't have a direct connection to the case, three of the four assistant coaches who were alleged to have been paid to bring players to an agent and a financial adviser are from Nike schools -- Tony Bland of Southern California, Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State and Emmanuel Richardson of Arizona.
The other coach said to be involved in the scheme is Chuck Person of Auburn, which has a deal with Under Armour. Sources say Under Armour is not involved with the investigation at this time.