Names & Faces: Nike Taking Elite Camp To LeBron’s Hometown

Some Companies Still Want Nothing To Do With Bryant

Nike officials said that they are “planning on moving their most elite summer [basketball] camp to Akron next July” as part of changes that include more focus on skill development at their camps. Various Nike endorsers will head camps specific to certain positions, and Cavaliers F LeBron James will host the top 80 players in the country at an “elite camp.” It is “believed Nike will run the camp and games” at the Univ. of Akron, which has an adidas contract. School officials said that they “had not yet been contacted by Nike” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 11/10).

POINT MAN: Davie-Brown Talent Senior Client Dir Scott Sanford said that he has “heard from several powerful companies seeking athlete pitch men that still want nothing to do” with Lakers G Kobe Bryant. Davie Brown’s DBI celebrity popularity poll places Bryant “some 20 points behind” other players in the areas of influence (how respondents believe the person is an influence in the world) and aspiration (how much respondents would want to be like that person). He also “trails significantly” in trust (how much trust do respondents place in the words and actions of the celebrity), appeal and endorsement (how effective a product spokesperson). Sanford: “Kobe has a selfish image among fans and potential advertisers. ... That is the perception, and believe it or not, that can hurt almost as much as the rape allegation” (CBS SPORTSLINE.com, 11/8).

HOLDING THE LINE: In an extensive profile of Ravens LB Ray Lewis, SI’s S.L. Price writes Lewis’ public life “has been a marvel of image rehabilitation.” He was a murder suspect after the ’00 Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP in ’01, but he “got no trip to Disneyland, no spot on the Wheaties box.” Since then, his charitable efforts “have helped make him Baltimore's most-beloved public figure.” Lewis’ “replica jerseys fill” M&T Bank Stadium, and “once-wary corporations such as EA Sports and Reebok and KBank use his name to sell product.” He has also appeared in ads for NFL Equipment and worked as an NFL Network analyst (SI, 11/13 issue).