Kanye West and other high-profile separations from sports brands: A murder, a rape, a shooting, a – Marca English
Kanye West‘s split with Adidas can hardly be termed as shocking following the Ye‘s anti-semitic tirade. At one point the world’s most successful link-up, West was dropped by the German brand, despite the immense popularity of his Yeezy shoe.
The Illinois-native isn’t alone though and can find solace in the sporting world with several high profile athletes also being dropped by their respective endorsers.
Athletes dropped for doping
Possibly one of the most common reasons for athletes being dumped by their sponsor is when they have been caught for doping.
Lance Armstrong remains the most high-profile case in this regard with the seven-time Tour de France winner dropped by Nike following his doping scandal, which rocked the cycling world.
Another superstar that was dropped by Nike was tennis sensation Maria Sharapova. In 2016 Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, with the the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sentencing her to a two year ban for the violation.
Despite having a relationship that dated back to when she was 11 years old, Nike decided to drop the tennis sensation.
Other athletes banned for doping were Ben Johnson, who was dropped by Diadora, Tyson Gay, who was endorsed by Adidas and Marion Jones who like Armstrong and Sharapova was backed by Nike before being dropped.
Athletes dropped for sexual misconduct
A far bigger issues than doping is the one of sexual misconduct. Brands take this issue extremely seriously and offer athletes very let leeway when they are found guilty.
Despite never being formally convicted, Paris Saint-Germain superstar, Neymar was dropped by Nike following the accusation that he sought oral sex in a hotel room from a representative of the company.
“Nike ended its relationship with the athlete because he refused to co-operate in a good faith investigation of credible allegations of wrongdoing by an employee,” an official statement from the company read.
Neymar is not the only athlete to have been dropped by Nike for this reason. At the start of 2022, Mason Greenwood was arrested following a sexual assault charge on his former partner.
While still under contract at Manchester United, pending the verdict at trial, Greenwood was dropped by Nike almost immediately.
Other reasons for player being dropped range from animal abuses as in the cases of Michael Vick and Kurt Zouma. Homophobic comments as was the case Manny Pacquiao and on a more extreme note, murder, as was the case with Oscar Pistorius.